Power Rangers: Becoming Mighty
by harmonator62
Summary: A reboot of the original series. Expect some radical changes to characters and stories. New tech makes the action leap off the screen. The Rangers aren't so buddy, buddy. Rita is still the classic.
1. Epilouge

Power Rangers: Becoming Mighty

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

Thank you for choosing "Power Rangers: Becoming Mighty" for your reading pleasure. The aim of this piece is to introduce a whole new take on the original series. With the advent of so many other children-based media being revamped for adult movie goers, I wanted to experiment with creating a plausible script for a reboot of the Power Rangers Universe. Several discrepancies will be dealt with as well as some re-invention of characters, tools, and meanings. No doubt some people will not be happy with what occurs in the story I create (If so, please let me know, you may have a legitimate point).

Our story begins some ten thousand years ago in this very solar system...

Epilogue: The Battle of Mars-

Unlike most planetary systems in the galaxy, the Sol System contained not one, but two planets capable of sustaining life. This fact made the Sol System one of the greatest sources of chemical and biological material. However, the Sol System was located far from any inhabited system and expenses often made the long journey unprofitable. For centuries the system had been disturbed by few scouting vessels gathering data on the flora and fauna of the third and fourth planets, Earth and Mars respectively.

When war erupted across the Galaxy Confederation, Sol went on unperturbed. It would not be until many years of fighting that the war reached the rolling plains of northern Mars. There a young captain by the name of Zordon led his small band of Eltarian warriors to defend the two precious living worlds. Unfortunately, Zordon's defense of the Sol System brought the attention of Lord Zedd, leader of the Evil Invasion. Zordon could not elicit the help of the early humans on Earth for they were too primitive to battle in interstellar warfare. Mercifully, the civilization on Mars had been lost to extinction many decades ago. So, Zordon prepared his defense of Sol on Mars, hoping the line would be drawn there, sparing the inhabitants of Earth a certain demise.

But Zordon was not without hope, for he and his team had discovered a super-energized mineral deep within the Martian crust. With an almost unlimited store of this material, Zordon and his troops believed they could outlast the coming siege.

* * *

The attack came without warning. The enemy forces had evaded detection from every sensor, every drone. Zordon and the handful of warriors held their ground for days as waves of enemy soldiers advanced upon the Martian plain. After days without sleep, food, or comfort, Zordon and his men began to tire. After a week, only Zordon and four other warriors stood defending the hidden entrance to their mine shaft.

Suddenly, the attackers halted, their clay figures nearly melting in the heat of Martian mid-day. Then she made her appearance. Her hair wrapped in two cone buns. Her dress lightly armored for one situated on a field of battle. Her staff a lusty blue. A golden top piece that formed a crescent moon with a red jewel the size of a hand entombed on the highest point. She walked with a mean disposition. Zordon and his men stood trembling not out of fear, but exhaustion.

"Presenting her wickedness, the sorceress of Lord Zedd himself!" Announced the golden-clad warrior to her right, "Rita Repulsa!"

"I wondered who Zedd would send here," said Zordon, "I thought it might be Mondo, the one who calls himself the 'King of Machines' or perhaps Master Vile. Instead he sends you, an untested and arrogant brat who wormed her way up the ranks of evil by her father's deeds."

"You will never address her wickedness that way again!" Shouted the golden warrior, whose eyes had literally come alive with red fire at Zordon's words.

"It's alright Goldar," the woman spoke, "He can say whatever he wants, I've already beaten him."

"You beaten me? Ha!" Zordon exclaimed with a booming laugh, "I am sorry Rita but you did nothing to beat me. The forces of Lord Zedd have been fighting for the past week. They are the ones who will receive the worthy praises of Lord Zedd! You shall find no such reward for ensuring the beauty of your appearance, such as it is."

"You think that I have done nothing. I, who have complete command over my followers?" Retorted a now incensed Rita. The red jewel began to glow with a vengeful light. "You, Zordon, a commander of such few warriors, are not worth my time."

"If that be the case, then leave this system. There is nothing here we can attack you with." Zordon claimed as his soldiers nervously looked at the area where the secret entrance was located.

"I would do so, but I'm afraid Zedd wants your head." Rita admitted, "So I'll offer you a deal. Come willingly with me now to Lord Zedd and I will leave you warriors alive on this planet."

"I have a different idea. We battle against one another. My sword against your staff. The first to fall unconscious or surrender loses. If I win, you and your forces leave this system and never return again."

"And if I win?" Asked a curious Rita.

"Then I go without struggle to the throne of Zedd."

"No, Zordon, you mustn't!" exclaimed one warrior.

Seeing the despair in the eyes of Zordon's warriors, Rita pounced, "Agreed."

Turning, Zordon spoke to his warriors, "I have seen too man friend die here. I must end the slaughter. Defend this planet, there is more power here than we can ever allow to fall into the hands of the enemy."

Finishing his orders, Zordon turned to find himself on the edge of a ring of puddy warriors. Rita stood in the center, her hand turning white as her grip on the staff tightened in anticipation.

"Are you ready?" The implied taunt was not lost on Zordon's ears.

And though it seemed that he whispered so softly, everyone on the plain heard Zordon say, "Yes."

* * *

The ensuing battle raged across the Martian plains. Legions of puddies were destroyed from the force of the blows. Rita's jewel shown like a burning star. Zordon's sword weaved a tapestry of plunges, feigns, and sweeps. The attacks lasted for hours. Zordon's small shield generator had nearly used up the entire supply of energy stored in the small deposit on mineral he had. Rita's jewel dimmed to the glow of a dying ember.

As the two Martian moons rose in a rare, dual moon-rise, the decisive blows fell. Rita fell back to the protection of a large bolder after a particularly complicated attack by Zordon. Suddenly Zordon's blade appeared in the moonlight. Rita reacted just in time to dodge the swift attack. However her surprised body couldn't out maneuver a small rock and Rita crashed to the ground. Rita coughed out the red Martian dust and moved to stand.

"Drop your staff." Zordon placed the tip of his sword at Rita's neck.

Rita instantly dropped her staff. "I surrender."

"Good, now take you men and go. We want no more disturbances from the forces of Zedd."

"Very well, Zordon of Eltar. But before I go, might I heal the wounds which we have inflicted upon the face of this planet?" Rita inquired.

"Why would you do such a thing?"

"I really not all that bad, I just don't like you goody good-doers." Rita said mischievously.

"Very well. No tricks Rita, or I will disarm you."

As Rita bend down for her staff she allowed a momentary flash of deception across her face. She arose, staff in hand and stone-walled face, and began to chant in a language alien to Zordon. What wasn't alien to Zordon was the effect Rita's spell was having on the ground beneath them. Although Mars wasn't as lush as its sister planet, the vegetation had always been a dark shade of green. Now the blades of grass began to brown and crumble before his very eyes.

"What are you doing?!" Cried Zordon as he turned back to Rita.

"Being evil!"

A bolt of energy struck Zordon in the chest, lifted him, and dropped onto a pile of dead long grass.

"Know this Zordon of Eltar, you are now and ever shall be tied to the fate of this planet. And when all life is extinguished from it, you will die." Rita laughed gleefully at the sight of her aging adversary. "Even now, the years of your life are being drained from you. Ha ha ha!" She turned to Goldar, "Order my forces back into the ships, time for us to leave."

* * *

Rita's forces left the dying Eltar and his four companions on the surface of a dying planet to find new sources of power for Rita to take. Unbeknown to Rita, Zordon's warriors managed to save their fallen leader. They used what amount of the energized mineral they had to create a space-time anomaly within a large stasis pod. The warriors placed Zordon's aging body in the vortex and saved his life, though they doomed him to an existence forever locked in the chamber.

At Zordon's request, the warriors constructed a base on Earth so Zordon could monitor the development of humans. They hid this base with sophisticated technology to ensure Zordon's safety from interaction with both humans and extraterrestrial beings. And because they could not stay behind to maintain necessary systems, the warriors presented Zordon with a robotic assistant programed to follow his orders.

After completing all of the necessary work, the warriors left to hunt down Rita and revenge Zordon. Years passed. Zordon spent his days reminiscing over past battles and events that had shaped his life. Each day he lost hope that he would ever see his friends again.

* * *

After nearly fifty years since the first attack on Mars, Rita returned. The warriors had managed to trap her and her top lieutenants in a container made completely from the energized Martian mineral. Zordon ordered the capsule buried on the dark side of Earth's moon. The warriors ensured the secrecy of Rita's location. Once again the warriors left, this time never to be seen again.

Zordon began to think of ways to defend Earth if the forces of Evil should ever come searching for Rita. With the help of his assistant, Alpha, Zordon was able to procure a large amount of the energized material. Years passed as Zordon oversaw the designs and construction of Earth's only hope again interstellar attack. He hoped they could finish in time...


	2. Chapter 1 Upsetting the Status Quo

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

* * *

Ch 1- Upsetting the Status Quo

Some time in the near future...

"Today will be the beginning of a new era in space exploration and expansion. For the first time in human history, men will live for over one month on an alien surface. We await the confirmation from our experienced crew, 'everything is a okay.'"

The man on the television droned on about the impending lunar landing. No one at Ernie's Gym and Bar, however, payed any attention to the television. Most of the college students were in the middle of workouts or chilling out with a fruit shake before classes began in about a week.

Ernie's Bar had originally opened outside of campus of Angel Grove University, but the school's growth had surrounded the popular hang-out. The school offered to buy the establishment for liability purposes and allow Ernie to continue managing. Ernie accepted and had become a fixture behind the shake bar. His calm demeanor and teddy-bear physique gave everyone a sense of warmth when they walked in from a hard day of classes.

* * *

Of particular interest on this day was a group of martial artists sparring on the far side of the workout area. Nearly fifty people ringed two fighters dressed in red and green respectively. The guy in green preferred revolving kicks while the one dressed in red relied on jabs and power punches. The two were almost equal.

"Jab Jason, jab!"

"Low sweep Tommy! LOW SWEEP!"

The pair's buddies shouted out various pieces of advice and criticism to the sparring partners. The crowd was loving every minute of it and a few bets were taken.

* * *

Not everyone in Ernie's was enjoying the commotion. Over in the small gymnastic section, a girl dappered in pink was trying to perfect her routine from her last high school tournament. She could never land the backwards flip and the boys match was becoming rowdy very quickly.

The dancers were upset because the crowd had swelled into their practice area. One African-American, dressed in the loudest of outfits, felt particularly disgruntle. The group had just finished it's first unpublished album and wanted to work out every move to the single they hoped to present to a head executive of a small music studio.

The biology club didn't mind the noise, they just kept talking to one another louder and louder. Some of the new recruits were enjoying their first fruit shakes rather obnoxiously. But one girl dressed in a yellow skirt sat at the end of the group took small, quiet sips while absorbing the new sights and sounds of college life.

Unbeknown to her, someone was enjoying the sight of her. The lad, who moments before had been enthralled in a discussion about quantum mechanics, looked up and beheld the sign of the gorgeous Asian-American sitting silently at the bar. He stared, enamored at her beauty, until she turned towards him. Instantly he returned his vision to his new blue overalls and nearly shoved the metal-rimmed glasses into his eyes.

* * *

Simply the status quo at Ernie's Bar with each group trying to ignore each other, mostly. Then it happened. The red sparring partner lost his balance after trying to use a round-house kick. Luckily the crowd opened up so he could land and try to slow himself down. But the loudly dressed dancer had his back turned to the match and wham. Both students went down.

"Thanks for breaking my fall, man." The sparrer said looking to getting back to his match.

"Look at what you did!" The loudly dressed dancer yelled and he picked at the pieces of his group's CD. "That was going to be our big break! You better have $200 bucks because that's what it cost us for that recording studio."

"Sorry guys, but it's not my problem. Besides, you know that Ernie has policies about liability and stuff like that."

"In fact I do." The assorted group turned in surprise to find Ernie behind them leaning on the banister. Pointing at the dancer, "You're new right? What's your name?"

"Zack, I'm a freshmen."

"Then welcome Zack. And you're Jason right? One of the big recruits for martial arts club?"

"Yeah."

"Well listen up bub, policy here says that if you break someone else's stuff here then you gotta stay after closing time and help clean. And as for you Zack, for bringing in illegal equipment you also get to stay after and clean."

"Ah man!" The short lived smile on Zack's face melted into a mope.

"This is bogus, I didn't do anything!"

"I know, you completely missed on your kick. Try jumping up rather than out." Ernie chuckled at his own wittiness. "Now you both enjoy the rest of your night, when that clock hits 2am I expect to see the two of you at the counter, ready to face the hardest cleaning you've ever done."

The boys looked as if someone had pummeled the air out of their lungs.

"Man that sucks Zack." One of the dancers said.

"Come on, let's go someplace where no one wants to break anymore of our stuff." Zack gave Jason a stare-down.

"It wasn't my fault," he said to no one in particular.

* * *

Ernie returned to the bar, hoping that would be the end of tonight's fireworks when he looked up and saw the two biggest trouble makers on campus, Bulk and Skull. The two had been incoming freshmen the year before, but because they spent so much time having 'fun' they had barely passed half of their classes. Most of the time they stayed out and about, terrorizing random victims with their pranks and usual bullying. Bulk carried the most mass of the two, approaching 300 pounds. Skull was the seedy-looking compatriot, always looking for ways to circumvent established rules just for kicks. He was the brains of the group, although rumor had it that Bulk had actually beaten him in checkers, once.

The dastardly duo sauntered up to the bar and, finding no open seats, removed two of the chatting biology members and assumed their seats. This naturally opened a storm of verbal attacks from the rest of the girls. The yellow-dressed Asian-American, however, remained at the end of the bar, just watching as her fellow members chewed out Bulk and Skull. Ernie tried to get the boys to move, but they had plugged their ear with fingers and were prepared to wait out whatever anyone said about them.

One particular girl found the boys extremely irritating and began punching Bulk in the shoulder. Bulk didn't like this physical strike and ended her attacks by shoving her down the bar and into her Asian friend. The yellow-clad Asian was propelled into the pink gymnast who had come up for a drink. The two girls continued right across the nerds' table and landed in the lap of the blue overalled admirer.

"Oh, hello. A most exemplary way to introduce yourself."

"What, oh hi." The furiously blushing Asian murmured.

"My...my name...name is William."

"Mine is Trini, thanks for catching me William."

William shifted his body slightly to compensate, dropping the gymnast to the floor. Neither of the other two noticed, but William's buddies helped the gymnast up.

"Well, most of my friends call me...Billy. I'd like...like it, if...if you would...too."

"Okay, Billy."

"Hey what's the big idea? Dropping me on the floor? Think that's funny or something?" The gymnast screamed at Billy. Her face began to match the color of her bright outfit as she vented her pent-up anger from her practicing. Unfortunately, the squabble at the bar had ended and once again, Ernie came out from behind the counter.

"Hey calm down." He shouted at the odd trio. "Now what's the problem?"

"This bozo decided to drop me," The gymnast began, "and not her. He dropped me!"

"Whoa! Hold on!" Ernie said, "You're Kimberly, the gymnastics club's only recruit?"

"Yes!"

"And you two would be...?"

Trini mumbled something Ernie couldn't understand. "What'd you say?"

"She said her name is Trini, sir." Billy spoke up for the girl on his lap, "And my name is Billy."

"Well Billy, Trini, and Kimberly, welcome to tonight's cleaning crew." Ernie held up his hand to cut off any replies. "Don't argue with me, I'm already in a bad mood. Show up at the counter at 2 for your supplies. Don't worry, you'll have it easy, those two bozos at the bar are coming too. See you guys later." Ernie returned to the bar.

"Well I guess I'd better go," Trini said as her biology club was leaving the bar, "See you later Billy."

"Bye," Billy watched as Trini caught up with her friends, glancing back once to the boy she had fallen into in so many ways.

"I guess I'll go practice some more," Kimberly said loudly to no one.

* * *

And so the status quo returned to a sense of normalcy for a few hours. Meanwhile, the television depicted the historic scene from space...

"Commander Tripp, you are go for final approach."

"Roger Houston. Beginning final approach."

A thruster on the lunar lander "Expansion 1" began the capsule's descent to the lunar surface. And so the status quo would be disrupted once again...


	3. Chapter 2 Exploration into Evils

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

* * *

Ch 2- Exploration into Acquaintances and Evils

"Houston, it appears that our long-range communication dish was damaged in descent."

"Roger, Expansion. We'll continue using the uplink from Extension in lunar orbit. This means you'll have to work without us telling you too."

"Yes mom, we'll all be good kids and do our chores while you're away." The astronauts snickered at the joke about their over-protective mission director.

"Good," the director ignored the laughs, "Communications black-out is coming up in about one minute so I'm going to give you your directives until we talk again. You are to commence primary exploratory drilling to a depth of 300 meters. Once the drilling is on the way I want all of you, and I mean all of you, to go to sleep. We give you a walk up call in about six hours so you can make yourselves 'beautiful' before going on international television."

"Roger Houston, countdown to drilling is t-minus one minute. See you on the other side..."

The comm dropped to static as the lunar orbiter passes to the far side of the moon."Okay boys and girls, let's get this show on the road. Start the drill."

One of the mechanical arms extended away from the main capsule with a long cylindrical tube on the end. The hydraulic pump pushed the drill bit out of the tube and down toward the moon's surface. The bit rotated faster and faster until it hit the surface and grounded to a halt.

"What went wrong? Did that 500 million dollar drill just break?"

"No sir, the ground appears to be harder packed than any other part of the moon we've been on. Increasing pressure by 25%."

The drill slowly began to pick up speed as it moved deeper into the moon. A second shaft moved down the middle of the arm and was added to the drill.

"Process running on-schedule, Houston will have a finish 300 meter hole when they make their midnight check-up on us." The drill operator announced.

"Alright, everyone go to bed. I don't want you looking like you all stayed up playing the first game of Texas Hold-em on the moon."

The astronauts shed their extra layers and tucked themselves into their crapped bunks. Meanwhile, the drill continued its descent into the moon.

* * *

Back on Earth, seven unlucky teenagers found themselves staying up late just so they could clean. Ernie stood behind his counter replacing the various glasses and plates Trini and Kimberly were putting through the industrial washer in the back. Jason walked back and forth as he mopped the work area's mat floors. Zack kept hauling garbage bags from the endless pile in the cafeteria. Billy wiped down every chair, table, handle, counter, and conceivable place that someone had touched that day. Bulk and Skull managed to sneak off to the bathrooms where they were supposed to be cleaning. Instead they decided to make a pair of messes and felt good about it.

Finally, dripping with sweat, exhaustion, and soapy water, the five workers finished cleaning.

"Not bad you guys, that's the fastest any group has ever cleaned this place before." Ernie stood behind the counter praising the teens' work. "You guys want anything, it's on the house just this once," he said with mock severity.

"I'll take the 'Power Puncher mix' with extra mango," Jason ordered.

"The 'Caribbean Crush' for me," Zack said.

"A 'Galapagos Gambler,' and double the energy booster," Kimberly demanded.

Trini mumbled something no one understood.

"What do you want?" Ernie bellowed over the roaring mixers.

"She said she'll have the 'Tropical Trio.' Why don't you make it two?" Billy spoke up. Trini flashed a quick smile before hiding her blush behind her long black hair.

"Okay, I'm going to go check on Bulk and Skull. Those two are going to be here all night at the pace they're working at." Ernie waddled down the dimly-lit hallway.

"You know, we did do a pretty good job on this joint," Zack complimented himself as much as the others, "Right my man?" He turned to give Jason a high-five.

"I don't think so. The only reason I'm here is because you decided to smuggle something in here."

"Hey man, it's not my problem you aren't that good at karate."

"What'd you just say to me?" Jason slightly expanded his chest and squared to Zack.

"You heard me." Zack said as he tried to equal Jason's pose, but his smaller frame made the two look rather comical than serious.

"Guys, guys, there's no need to fight," Billy attempted to interpose himself between the two. Although he was no doubt the weaker of the three, Billy did have a height advantage over both Jason and Zack. "Come on, the drinks are done. Let's pour our glasses and enjoy those refreshing smoothies."

"Yeah, come on guys, you've got to try these things." Kimberly said as she helped herself to her 'Galapagos Gambler.'

"Listen, I'm going to leave you both here," Billy said to Jason and Zack, "if you two want to have to clean this place for the rest of the semester, that's fine with me." Turning to Trini, he said, "Would...would you like...like to get our...our drinks?"

Trini nodded her head and the two of them joined Kimberly behind the bar to pour their smoothies.

* * *

"Well big man, what are we going to do?" Zack asked as condescendingly as any short person could, "Do we stay here, beat each other up, and force ourselves to see each other for the rest of semester? Or can we be good friends and go have ourselves some smoothies?"

"For now I'll let you go without a fight, but next time you get in my way, nobody will stop me." Jason threw his entire hatred into the words. "And never call us friends, we're only acquaintances."

"Whatever you say, oh powerful and terrifying one!" Zack mocked as he backed up towards the bar with his hands outstretched. Jason followed with a grimace.

* * *

As soon as Jason and Zack sat down at the bar with the other three, Bulk and Skull ran out from the hallway and hide themselves behind the counter. The five teens peered over the bar to look at the two winded trouble-makers. Bulk looked up.

"Stop looking at us and pretend that we're not here!" he said in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah, don't let Ernie find us, he's really mad right now!" Skull said, terror evident in his words and face.

"Oh really," a sixth head joined the others hovering above Bulk and Skull. "You two have no idea how much trouble you're going to be in when I report you directly to the president. He'll kick you out of this university for good. About time too." Ernie gleefully chuckled at the threat.

"No, no! You can't! Our parents would kills us if we got kicked out of college!" Bulk stammered and Skull begged, "Please, just give us another chance!"

"You want another chance?" Ernie shouted with the likeness of a drill sergeant.

"Yes, please, please! Just don't report us. We promise we'll never do anything to you or the bar again!" Skull said.

"Okay, then I have a proposition. You two become my employees; you clean, cook, and do the things you were supposed to tonight. If you make it the entire year, and I mean both semesters, without purposefully making another mess, I'll let the two of you go without reporting this incident." Ernie coyly revealed the lesser punishment. Bulk and Skull looked at each other, whispered in one another's ear, and then turned back to the six staring faces above.

"We accept!" They announced together.

"Good," Ernie said and sat down on a stool, "Well it looks like you six lucked out on being this year's only punished troublemakers. Guess I'll have to think up something new, maybe re-stacking the weights would do the trick..." Ernie's voice trailed off as he mulled over new forms of punishment.

* * *

Bulk and Skull slunk off immediately after Ernie stopped paying attention to them. The five remaining teens finished off their drinks before leaving separately. Billy started and stopped himself from asking Trini for her number and Zack thought about going back to the music studio and asking for the backup disc he had left there. Kimberly nearly flew back to her dorm-room, believing she'd have at least fifteen different text messages to respond to since dinner. Jason stayed at the bar, telling himself he should have knocked out that punk Zack when he had the chance. Eventually, Ernie aroused from his ruminations to kick Jason out and lock up the bar for the night.

* * *

200 meters below the Expansion, the lunar drill hit something that had gone undisturbed for nearly 10,000 years. And she had a headache from the waiting.


	4. Chapter 3 Of Escape

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

Thanks for staying with me, I hope those last two chapters weren't too boring.

Enjoy this next chapter, the beginning of the update for technology begins now.

* * *

Ch 3- Of Escape

The lunar drill had stopped approximately 97 meters from its objective. Only one small red light on the Expansion notified the sleeping crew of the delay. Contact with NASA was nearly five minutes away.

Then, a break-through.

The drill began to turn slowly. Enough to create a shallow divot in the energized-mineral prison's ceiling. For the five captured beings inside, it was the weakness they needed. A sudden explosion of what could only be called pure energy rocketed out from the dent and obliterating the drill bit, shaft and motor. The force of the energy as it escaped above the moon's surface caused the Exploration to fall on its side and ripped open a six foot wide hole in the lunar surface.. The beam, if it had been visible from Earth, would have made the moon look like a huge lolly-pop.

Inside the Exploration alarms, lights, and two tape players were going off, startling the sleeping astronauts, those still alive. Two of the astronauts had fallen the 25 foot width of the lander and cracked their heads against the metal siding. Another, on the now bottom of the ship, had a scalpel sticking out from his artery.

"What's going on? Report!" The commander shouted as he tried to stand at the end of his bunk.

"It appears that we are on our side," reported the lunar cartographer.

"I can see that, damn it! Why are we? Somebody open the window shields."

"Sir! We're venting oxygen!" Shouted the lander's technician.

"How much?" The commander became suddenly calm.

"Tanks 1 and 3 are gone, four's nearly empty, and two is down to five percent. I'd say we've got about an hour before we die from deprivation."

"Okay, nobody panic. Gillet and myself are going outside to see if we can find any explanation for our current situation. Perkins, you make sure the transmitter is working when the orbiter comes around. We're going to get ourselves home."

"Yes sir!" The crew responded.

* * *

Less than five minutes later Commander Tripp and Gillet made their way out of the airlock and onto the lunar surface. Once they moonwalked around the tipped lander, the pair was frozen stiff at the sight. The drill arm was gone, ripped off of the lander's body. The O2 tanks had literally imploded due to the crushing force of the lander falling on them. These things, however, went unnoticed by the astronauts. They could only watch the two creatures who stood at the top of the now six foot wide mining shaft.

One stood tall and thin against the silt house of starlight. The other seemed weighted down, even in the light gravity of the moon, by his bulky arms and massive torso. Both creatures were colored blue and had small growths over the visible parts of their bodies. They also lacked anything resembling a spacesuit in the void of atmosphere on the lunar surface. Luckily for the Commander and Gillet, the aliens did not notice their arrival. Instead the blue pair appeared focused on the shaft where they obviously climbed from. Despite this, the two astronauts were frightened stiff and nearly gave away their positions when they both leapt at the voice over their suits' comm units.

"Well Baboo, what is it? Are they coming or not?" As the humans heard this the shorter alien nudged the taller one.

"Yes," the tall one nodded, "Goldar is taking his time with all of Finster's equipment. And I'm sure Rita is weakened by the power output she had to do to break us."

"Humph! It would have only taken me a few more hits to break down that wall I'd been working on."

"Oh, so instead of having this nice tunnel to the surface, we'd have to dig our way through over two hundred meters of heavily packed soil." The tall alien threw a certain amount of frustration at his blue companion.

"Oh, yeah, well...hey! How did you know that the prison is 200 meters deep? Did you betray us?" The short alien tried to point a finger in the tall one's face but ended up several feet short.

"I'm an observer, remember? I look at things and determine their value! Why would I want to betray Rita? According to me, and I am the best of sources on this, Rita is the most powerful being in the galaxy."

"So, you betray Lord Zedd?"

"No you fool! Do you have any idea of how many millennia we were incarcerated?"

"Oh, Baboo! You know I don't do large words. They make my head hurt." The stocky alien bent over in mental pain.

"Oh, fine! Years! How many years were we down there?" Baboo pointed down the shaft they had come.

"I know this. I know this! Don't try to help me! Uh..." The short alien began pounding his head, as if expecting the answer to fall out of it and onto the lunar surface.

As the alien searched for the answer to the question, Commander turned to Gillet and asked, "How can we understand them? And how are we even hearing them?"

Gillet shook his head in equal confusedness. Then his countenance turned to pure fright.

"Gillet! What's the matter?" The Commander shook his fellow astronaut.

"The reason for your friend's fright is myself."

* * *

To the Commander, the next four seconds were the shortest in human history. The alien named Baboo had snuck up on the two humans and grabbed the one with his back turned towards the shaft.

"Listening in on our conversation? Trying to figure out our first move before your goody-goody little band of worthless scum comes to recapture us? Thought you'd find out what Rita Repulsa is up to after these ten thousand years of imprisonment? Well you two, looks like none of that's going to happen." Then Baboo turned his head back to his companion, "Squat! Get over here! We've got some party crashers!"

"Huh?" Squat was still pondering how long he had been in the prison, so far he'd gotten to five. "Oh, coming Baboo." The stubby alien's face lit up when he saw the two humans in their spacesuits. "Yum, snacks! I feel like I haven't eaten in ages!" He made his way towards Gillet, who by now had fainted and fallen face first into the dark soil.

Baboo used his free hand to block Squat's hunger rumble, "No Squat! They're spies! We must question them and then turn them over to Rita." Baboo's attention returned to the Commander, "Hem...around eighty percent H2O, crude space-faring technologies, and using only ten percent of your brain-power! Why, you can't possibly be involved with our enemies, unless the galaxy truly fell into anarchy and left only the uncivilized cultures alive! What kind of being are you? What is your home planet? What system?"

"Human, Earth," was all the Commander could utter.

"Earth? Could this hu-man mean that second life-sustaining world that the pathetic Zordon was defending?" Baboo salivated over the possibility, but more questioning was needed before he could present a plan to Rita, who no doubt was just seconds from rearing her continuously talking mouth from the shaft. "Where did you come from?"

The Commander pointed at the Exploration.

"No! The planet, the planet you originated from."

The Commander tried, but it was for not. He could not keep his eyes from finding the blue jewel that was his home planet, sitting on the left shoulder of Baboo. The alien followed his gaze and, as he beheld the vibrant world, an insidious gleam leapt into his eyes.

"Excellent," he said.

"Hey bozos! You gonna help or not?" A new and snarling voice crackled in the Commander's ears.

"Oh! Fine! Squat!" The call brought the short alien to attention, "Go help Goldar. He's at the top."

Grumbling, Squat trotted over to the shaft's entrance and lugged away two large cylinder containers.

"Finally!" The voice exclaimed, "As if they couldn't have buried us any deeper!"

The Commander glimpsed what looked like a man in golden armor, except that his features appeared to have the likeness of a dog. Short black fur layered the visible parts of his body, at least, the Commander assumed it was a he; and his nose jutted out like a snout. Goldar's eyes glowed a milky orange, his tongue hung out of his mouth, a natural reaction after toiling to move all of Finster's equipment.

"Finster!" Goldar shouted back into the pitch black shaft, "Are you coming? You'd better not be holding Rita up with your old age!"

"Yes, yes! We are nearly their. Her wickedness is very tired after using so much power." The voice of Finster sounded calm and kind to the Commander. However, such contemplations were forgotten when Baboo threw the Commander over to edge of the shaft, directly next to Goldar's feet.

"What's this?" The golden warrior exclaimed. He turned to Baboo, "Is this another one of your tricks fiend?"

"No tricks! This is a human. It claims to have come from Earth, the very planet visible in our sky." Baboo pointed one long scaly finger at the blue planet.

"Oh ho! What good fortune we have that we have been returned to system of such a worthy battlefield." The golden warrior's eyes flashed a momentary red at the memory of the long ago battle.

Then came a dreaded sound from Squat, "Uh oh!" Baboo and Goldar turned to see that the short alien had spill the contents of one of the canisters. Small gadgets and random parts were scattered into the lunar soil. Squat reached down and picked up the closest gizmo that had a screen attached to it.

"Is it broken?" Baboo asked with a pre-expected answer of 'yes.'

"I don't think so, the screen's got something on it." Squat said, looking curiously at the device.

"Let me see it." Baboo said. He regretted saying that as Squat crunched almost half of the other gadgets while walking over to Baboo. "Looks like this scans for energy readings," Baboo observed, "and it appears there is one close by."

"Where? I will seek it out and take it by force!" Goldar proclaimed.

"Patience Goldar! I don't think we'll have to worry about this. The scanner says the energy is emanating from Earth, and the readings indicated that the source, or should I say the being with that power, is," Baboo couldn't believe his own conclusion, "Zordon!"

"Impossible! Rita destroyed Zordon ten thousand years ago. There's no possibility for him to still exist." Goldar stated.

Baboo agreed, "The scanner must be incorrect. Even if Zordon still survives, he can be no threat to us."

"I can assure you master Baboo, that scanner is operating withing normal working condition." Finster defended his work as he stepped out of the shaft.

"And Zordon is certainly someone whom I'd like to meet, again." Said the seemingly young woman supported by Finster.

"My Queen!" Goldar bowed to the sorceress, "It is as you command. We shall find Zordon and bring him to you, Rita!"

"Very good!" Rita said with renewed vigor as the thought of revenge for her years in imprisonment rose in her mind. She glanced at the Exploration and the two suited astronauts on the surface, "Goldar, first be sure to take care of our saviors. Make sure they receive their due rewards."

"It shall be done." Goldar pick the Commander up and threw him against the hull of the Exploration, knocking him unconscious. The dog man grabbed the Commander and Gillet and dragged the two unconscious men to the other side of the Exploration.

* * *

"Finster, I'm curious. How did the humans understand us. I know they don't speak the same language as us, I could sense it as I questioned that one." Baboo probed the ancient dog man.

Finster was unlike his fellow escapees, he did not impose a sense of dread in his stance or looks. Instead, he gave a favorable impression. His fur had turned gray and grown long in the years of imprisonment. He wore his clothes loosely and sleeveless, preferring comfort while he worked to improve his gadgets. Like Goldar, his fellow dog-like man, Finster was completely loyal to his master. Rita's demands for power during the war had been his only inspiration, but his time in the solitude of his cell allowed Finster to come up work that suited his own causes. Those new idea had been stamped out by Squats unyielding feet.

"I believe the mental interface in our status field bubbles," Finster explained, "allowed the humans to pick up the mental transmissions we are using to project our thoughts, since the airless void of space doesn't allow us to communicate normally. The translation sub-program probably was translating your words into the human language. I will have to fix that before we attack Earth. We don't want Zordon to understand our communications while you are ravaging the planet."

"A wise precaution, but how are we going to get to Earth? Rita's powers are drained for the moment and unless you've got a hidden ship that even I don't know about, we're stuck here." Baboo scratched his leathery head.

"Oh, don't you worry yourself, I believe everyone will be quite stunned when they witness one of my greatest ideas come to life." Finster broadly grinned at his promise.

"It is done my Queen. The humans received their awarded quick deaths." Goldar reported.

"What, no explosions? Goldar you are going soft!" Rita said in mock criticism. "Perhaps it is time you joined Finster here in the pursuit of science."

Goldar growled at the prospect of having to end his days in the company of the dogged old fool. But he soon cheered up at the sudden explosion of the Exploration. Rita looked questioningly at her golden warrior.

"You said to give them their reward, I decided to give them a bonus." He chuckled at his own joke. Rita, Baboo, and Squat all joined their various laughing styles to the gleefulness; Finster bent down to pick up a tattered patch depicting a man in a spacesuit, pointing to the stars.

* * *

For fifteen minutes officials at NASA headquarters in Houston had stood and stared at the single automatic line sent by the Exploration: "Critical Mission Failure, Require Immediate Rescue and Evac." By the time the director called the President, the story hit the airwaves.

* * *

Next time, on _Power Rangers: Becoming Mighty_-

The teens find themselves together again, but this time, it isn't for cleaning.


	5. Chapter 4 When Fate Pulls

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

Ch 4- When Fate Pulls...

* * *

The crowd at Ernie's the next night was slightly subdued from the typical night. Most eyes were focused on the television as the few details about the disaster on the moon were broadcast again and again. Experts and officials gave opinions and scenarios of what might have happened to the fated crew of the Exploration.

Although the students stood united in their amazement of what happened so many miles away from Earth, they still separated themselves. The athletic guys and girls crowded the eating area so much that the geeks, student groups, and other random individuals found themselves in workout area. Billy sat with some of his fellow nerds on a bench, totally absorbed in statistically data the group found on the web.

Trini stood a little ways away from Billy, standing against one of the squat machines. She often stole glances towards the blue overalled boy, Billy hadn't changed from the previous day, and wondered how she could express her feelings to him. Normally, Trini just tagged along with some of her neighbors, not putting any emotional value into what actions she partook in. But now she had a desire, she wanted, no, she needed Billy, Trini corrected herself. She'd never involved herself with a boy she liked and felt powerless to do so now.

Over at the bar, Jason, his fellow sparring partner and fast friend Tommy had worked their way onto two stool. They ordered a couple of the 'Power Puncher' smoothies and talked about a few martial arts moves they could work on. They paid little attention to the news, but they were becoming increasingly annoyed at the squeezing throng of people at their backs. The red and green clad young men got their orders and decided to find a table.

However, no open tables were to be found and the boys were ready to just finish their smoothies and leave before Jason spotted Kimberly from the night before and suggested they go and sit with her. Tommy said, "I don't know man, what if she's just holding a table for her friends?"

"What! Are you scared of her? Come on, besides she doesn't have friends." Jason replied with plenty of gusto.

* * *

The two boys made they way to the gymnast and appropriated the two empty seats at her table. "What do you think you're doing?!" She screamed, snapping her head at both of the seated martial artists.

"We're sitting." Jason answered nonchalantly, "You go a problem with that."

"Yes." Kimberly said with anger, "And I'll tell Ernie that you've been harassing me."

"So you want to clean with me again?" Kimberly's faced revealed her doubt and confusion, "Cause you know that if you complain about someone and there's no proof, Ernie will just make everyone clean."

"No, he can't anymore because he got those two trouble-makers to be his workers, so there!" Kimberly happily concluded.

"Yeah, but remember that Ernie said his new punishment would be organizing all of the weights?" Jason pointed in Billy and Trini's direction, "Those look pretty heavy, don't they Tommy?"

"Yeah, heavy." Tommy glanced at the workout area before returning his focus to Kimberly.

"So, what's going to be?" Jason asked, "Can we sit here quietly, finish our drinks and talk about karate; or would you like to meet later and stack some weights?"

"Fine." Kimberly gave in, "but don't expect this from me ever again. I don't do anyone favors."

"Whatever you say princess." Jason blew off her remarks and engaged Tommy in discussion about a new move called the tornado kick.

* * *

Things kept moving on at Ernie's for over an hour before the real problems began. Zack and his troupe of dancers came in looking for some practice time, but since the workout area was occupied with so many people practice was canceled. Zack was weaving through the crowd back to the food area when Jason caught sight of him. In the middle of his own sentence, Jason stood up and went after the African-American. He caught up to Zack in the back hallway, grabbed him, and held him against the wall.

"It's Zack, right? Doesn't really matter. You remember what I told you if I ever saw you again?" Jason curled his free hand into a fist and put it directly in Zack's face.

"Dude! Chill out!" Zack pleaded, "What's your problem!"

"Jason!"

* * *

Jason turned to see Tommy and Kimberly standing at the end of the hallway, the later looking horrified and the former looking stunned. Then, both doors to the men's and women's bathroom opened and Trini and Billy walked into a tense situation.

"Jason, I don't know what you're thinking, but if anyone finds out what you're about to do to this guy, you'll get thrown off the team." Tommy begged his friend to not injure the dancer. "Just let him down and we'll leave."

"Oh, I don't think so." The six teens turned their eye farther down the hallway to see Bulk and Skull silt housed by the glow of the red exit sign.

"You dweebs are so totally busted." Bulk said with a grin that nearly stretched ear to ear, "We're going to tell Ernie and then you'll be forced to take our jobs."

"Yeah! Our jobs!" Skull repeated, "Hey, wait a minute Bulky. What if we don't report them?"

"What are you talkin' about Skull? Don't you want to escape from this dumb place and have some fun?" Bulk asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I do." Skull admitted, "But I kind of like the idea of getting paid while serving time. Besides, these freaks can help us out in other ways." Skull pointed in the six teens' general direction.

"How?" Bulk squinted his eyes to show his interest.

"Well..." Skull started. Then, after taking a last glance at the teens, his whispered in Skull's ear. After the plan was explained, Bulk nodded and said.

"I like it!"

"Okay, boys and girls." Skull split the group of teens as he paraded down the hallway, "Here's the deal. You agree to show up in the back hallway tonight at 2am. You will do all of the cleaning chores for us, as well as you did them, no, better than you did them last night. You never tell Ernie about tonight, and neither will we." Skull nodded as if to assure the blackmailees that he would not break his word.

"Two...two problems." Billy stammered, "Fi...first the fact that Trini, Kimberly, myself, and, um...I don't know his name," Billy pointed at Tommy, "but, uh, we haven't done anything wrong."

"Yeah but who's Ernie going to listen to, his employees or a group of kids that he's already punished once this semester?" Skull folded his arms to represent his confidence.

"Yeah! Us, or you?" Bulk added on the opposite end of the hall.

"What's your second point their, rims?" Skull insultingly asked.

"Well...what's to stop the four of us from actually showing. I mean we can each back each other's stories up and even Jason and Zack could too." Billy shrugged his shoulders to show his doubt in his analysis.

"Oh, no." Jason, who by now had let Zack down, exclaimed, "I'm not taking the fall for you guys again. If I have to clean again, then everyone has to clean."

"Well, there's your answer brains." Skull interjected, "Now, if you kiddies have no more brilliant ideas, Bulk and I will return to our paying jobs."

"Yeah, I got something." Jason stated, "Leave Tommy out of this. The rest of us will show up, but Tommy doesn't clean. If he does, I go a tell Ernie about this whole thing right now and you two get thrown out of school." Jason cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

Skull thought about the proposal for about one second, "Fine. Guess you know who your real friends are, hun brains?" Skull teased Billy. "Come on Bulk, let's go."

* * *

After the two delinquent workers left, Trini, Billy, Kimberly and Zack returned to the food area relieve some of the built up stress from the tension-fraught events in the hallway. Tommy just stood in the hallway, looking down at the floor, unable to look his sparring partner in the face.

"Why you do it Jase? Why did you single me out like that?" Tommy asked.

"I'm just helping you out, man." Jason began.

"Protect me from what?"

"From hanging out with those losers!"

Tommy shook his head, "I can handle whatever Bulk and Skull could possible dish out."

"No, not those two. Those guys! The people I've got to spend another night with!" Jason pointed out toward the food court.

"Jason, I know you don't like that guy, Zack. I don't know why or what you have against the rest of them, but they tried to help one another, and you just cut them down." Tommy sounded confused as his words came out.

"Tommy..."

"Jason, out of respect for you," Tommy brought his head up as he cut off Jason, "I won't show up tonight to help you guys clean. But don't...don't ever expect to be my sparring partner again if this is the way you'll be treating others." With that, Tommy left a stunned Jason in the dimmed hallway.

* * *

On the moon, four creature stood stunned at the sight of their former prison rising out of the lunar surface in the image of a fortress of millennia gone by. One grayed creature looked on proudly as his complex creation began with perfect success.


	6. Chapter 5 Reality Pushes

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

Ch 5- ...Reality Pushes

* * *

"I don't believe it." Rita stood stunned as the energized mineral compound not only rose from its hiding place, but also changed its shape in the process. "It's magnificent!"

"Yes, a very great surprise." Baboo complemented his graying companion.

Finster simply stood silently, enjoying the sight of plan taking fruition and the praise he received for it.

"But what is it changing into?" Goldar asked.

"Ah! An excellent question my dear Goldar." Finster began, "The structure is designed to take on the approximate appearance of her wickedness's former residence, the dreaded Tower of Kastainia."

"Oh, Finster! You shouldn't have!" Rita nearly squealed with delight, "How soon until it's finished?"

"The transformation won't be complete for several hours, that's why I wanted to start as soon as possible." Finster explained.

"What! Can't you make this thing go any faster?" Rita's tone changed from joyous to pure frustration within a second.

"No, your wickedness, I cannot. The energized mineral the Eltarian warriors used to construct this prison takes quite a lot of energy, or should I say lack of energy, to make it mandible. I had to build the different devices to siphon energy from different parts of the structure at different intervals, otherwise it could crumble if too much energy was removed from the mineral."

"I'm disappointed in you Finster I expected much better!" Rita pouted her discontent as perhaps one of the most complex events in the history of applied science continued behind her.

"There is one more thing..." Finster began.

"What!?" Rita cut him off, "Do we have to stand in a circle and dance to make a door appear? Does this 'magnificent' building need a fresh coat of paint after this?"

"Well, it does look pretty dingy." Baboo stated.

"Shut it, bimbo!" Rita snapped.

"Ha! Bimbo!" Squat amused himself with Baboo's new nickname.

"No, nothing like that." Finster said, "I just thought you all might want to know that our stasis fields will need to be recharged and refilled with breathable air before the tower is completed."

"You dog!" Goldar charged up to the old creature, "You took away the one place we had to keep us alive!"

"Yes." Finster said proudly, "Yes I did. If we had taken so much time moving the equipment to this safe location, then our stasis fields would have lasted for the necessary duration." Finster looked down at the line of metal embedded into forearm displaying numerous informative data on the stasis field it was generating. As Finster did this, the others checked their own as well, "I see that I have about 5% of total power left, good for about two hours. Yours should be the same." Rita, Squat, and Baboo all nodded; Goldar growled.

"I suggest that we remove ourselves to Earth, your wickedness." Baboo proposed as he turned his sight to the blue planet hanging in the sky.

"I agree." Goldar seconded the motion, "We can use the opportunity to scout out Zordon's position."

"Well," Rita started, "I do wish to find what has happened to our dear friend and how he ever escaped certain doom upon the surface of the red planet. Very well, to Earth." Rita conjured up a portal above their heads and the five evil beings were sucked into the vortex.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly found themselves do the same jobs as the previous night. Save for this time there was no Ernie in sight as the bar's manager had left to go to bed for an early morning meeting with his financial advisor. Bulk and Skull sat behind the counter, making themselves shakes and smoothies while the five teens cleaned up from an unusually clean night at Ernie's. Most of the students had only been in to watch the news coverage of the Exploration's destruction, so there were only a few trash bags to be carried and less than one hundred glasses to clean.

Bulk and Skull, however, were taskmasters with a cruel streak a mile deep. Instead of actually drinking their smoothies, they would just throw them into the food area, the liquid substance exploding out of the crumpled paper cups. Jason and Zack were getting rather annoyed with this antic as they were cleaning that area, so they decided to stop mopping up the messes and just catch the flying smoothies before they landed. Bulk and Skull didn't like that the dancer and martial artist were so good that they caught every cup without spilling any of the blended fruits.

That is, until Bulk suddenly got the idea to leave the top off of his next smoothie cup. He filled his blender with all of the rotting fruits in the garbage he could find and hit the button labeled 'pure mixation.' The fruits became a nauseating liquid of brown color. Bulk quickly poured the entire contents into a jumbo size cup and took aim in-between the two teens. Bulk reared back and threw the cup ask hard as he could. The cup landed between Jason and Zack. The rotten smoothie, however, washed over Bulk and Skull as it came out of the cup as Bulk threw it. Jason and Zack doubled over in laughter. Their laughter brought Billy, Trini, and Kimberly into the food area and they began to laugh as well.

"Not funny." Bulk pointed at Jason.

"Yeah, not funny!" Skull repeated, "Now you and your pals are going to get reported for breaking into Ernie's for a little late night smoothie action. We'll said we tried to stop you and then they'll kick you out of this place for good."

That was when the tremor struck.

* * *

First the glasses began to shake, then the chairs and tables joined in. Soon weights fell in the workout area, some Styrofoam ceiling panels began to come loose. The five working teens hid under separate tables while Bulk and Skull cowered behind the counter. Unfortunately for the two troublemakers, a stack of coconuts placed directly above their position came raining down on their heads, knocking them unconscious.

"How much long do these earthquakes last?" Jason asked no one in particular.

"The average quake lasts approximately 38 minutes. However, quakes often have several aftershocks and depending on how close your position is to the epicenter, one might experience the quake for longer."

"Great." Kimberly muttered, "Just what we all wanted to hear."

Just as Kimberly finished voicing the others' thoughts, the earthquake stopped. The teens rose from their crapped positions and grouped around the bar.

"Are they okay?" Trini asked as she motioned to the knocked out Bulk and Skull.

"Probably," Billy started.

"Man, who cares, let's get out of here! Let these two bozos wake up tomorrow with their splitting headaches. They deserve it!"

"Yeah they do," Jason agreed, "but you're not going anywhere." He grabbed Zack and held him against the singular support pole in the room.

"Not again!" Kimberly moaned.

"You and me have got a little business to settle. And since no one's around..." Jason stopped as he heard the front glass doors shatter. "Not another tremor," he dropped Zack, "back to the tables."

The other teens quickly returned underneath the tables further back in the food area. But the expected quake didn't come. Instead, the teens heard the approach of footsteps crunching the broken glass. Not one of the teens felt like greeting the newcomers, they each decided to stay hidden in the maze of tables and chairs. Then came the voices.

* * *

"Too easy," a sneaky and insidious voice exclaimed, "these pitiful creatures Zordon has aligned himself with. They will be no match for our might when we can make full use of Finster's weapons."

"Bah! I no need Finster's weapons, I could walk forever and not be hurt by these dumb animals." An impeded and slow voice responded to the first.

"I wouldn't say that if I were you, Squat. These creature do have nuclear capabilities. If they hit you with some of their bombs, I think you'll feel it."

"No! I cannot be hurt by these weaklings, Baboo!" One of the tables at the edge of the food area was shattered. "They are weak!"

"Why don't you prove it?" The voice of Baboo suddenly came from behind the teens, "There are five of them right here!"

* * *

Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly all turned to see the blue-faced, black armor-clad Baboo grinning above them as he stretched the distance between two tables with his thin, long legs. Kimberly screamed as she saw Baboo's claw-like hand reach toward her face. Baboo instantly went to cover his ears as his hearing was extremely sensitive with the universal translator active. Jason saw the opportunity and kicked one of the tables out from underneath Baboo.

"Run!" Jason yelled at the others as Baboo fell face-first into the floor. Squat, seeing the teens beginning to make their ways towards the back hallway, charged his way through tables and chairs to block the teens escape.

"You going no where!" He shouted and slobbered at/on the teens.

"You'll pay for that!" The teens twirled to see Baboo rise from the floor with only his pride injured. "I'm going to tear each one of you apart! Internal from internal system!"

"What do we do now?" Zack asked.

"What can we do?" Kimberly began to sob.

"You can do nothing!" Squat said. "Ah!" He yelled as ponderously charged at the teens.

Just before the alien could strike the teens, a white energy field enveloped the teens and then, in a flash, they were gone. Squat, being the cumbersome being he was, could not stop himself as he ran full-tilt into Baboo. The two alien crashed in a heap and destroyed a good portion of the tables.

"Get off me!" Baboo shrieked.

"What happened?" Squat asked as he rolled off of Baboo, "Hey! Where'd they go?"

"Oh, glad you noticed!" Baboo spat at Squat, "Come on! We've got to report to Rita that Zordon is indeed alive ans still capable of interfering with out plans."

Squat and Baboo each tapped the metal slab embedded in their arms and disappeared from Ernie's Bar and Gym.

* * *

Two minutes later, Bulk and Skull regained consciousness. The two buddies lifted themselves with lots of help from the counter. While using the support of the bar, the two boys stared at the area of destruction that was the food area.

"Those s.o.b's!" Bulk said, "They destroyed the place during the earthquake and then left us at the scene of the crime!"

"Don't worry Bulky, will get through this."

"Shut up and let's try to save our jobs."

* * *

However, the five teens hadn't left Ernie's by their own prerogative. And, for the moment, they weren't sure where they were headed.

* * *

I'd like to note that the next chapter might be a few days in coming, I've got some family Christmas to attend this weekend. Promise to have more chapters up during Christmas week.

* * *


	7. Chapter 6 Agreeing to the Unknown

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

Ch 6- Agreeing to the Unknown

* * *

_"...don't think this is a good idea."_

_"We have no choice, besides these humans are perfectly able to handle the stress put on them. They're of prime age and have already been effected by recent events."_

_"Their age is what concerns me. You've seen the broadcasts depicting humans of their age. Brash, rude, moody. Do you really think they'll do as we tell them? Or even listen to us?"_

_"They must! The fate of their world depends on it!"_

* * *

Jason listened to the voices on the edge of his consciousness. His head throbbed and the area a chair had fell on him wasn't helping matters either. Before opening his eyes, Jason could tell he was lying face down on a cold, hard metal surface. He didn't seemed physically restrained, but found that his body wouldn't respond to his urges. So Jason stopped struggling and just listened to the bits of sound he could hear coming from what seemed like another room.

* * *

_"...realigning the synaptic interfaces so as not to burn-out their sensory receptors."_

_"The zords will also need..." _the voices faded out.

* * *

Jason tried to move his arms and found them sluggishly responsive. He managed to move himself into a sitting position, despite the lack of feeling in his legs. Jason saw Billy, Trini, Kimberly, and Zack all unconscious on a metallic floor with himself. Jason kept trying to move different parts of his body with varying success for several minutes as more piece of the other room's conversation came to his ears.

* * *

_"...converting text and vocal cues into human language: English..."_

_"...adaption of spacial transfer sequence complete, beginning..."_

_"...docking bays secured, preparing for start-up and diagnostic scans..."_

* * *

Jason didn't understand much of what came to his ears, most of the technical jargon beyond his vocabulary. _'If only that Billy guy was awake,' _Jason thought, _'maybe he could understand some of what they are talking about.'_

As if on cue, the other four teens began to slowly awaken from their slumber over the next minutes. Jason finally had movement in his legs and the others were able to sit in upright positions before they began to talk.

"Where are we?" Zack asked as he tilted his head in every possible direction to see the room they were locked in. The room was circular with a ten or eleven foot ceiling. Metal created the floor, walls, and ceiling in a shiny, but nondescript gray. The room was barren of anything else, no door, window, or even seat for its current occupants.

"I don't know." Jason admitted, "But there are voice that you can hear."

"Great," Kimberly threw her hands up, "I'm stuck in a room with a person that hears voices. What a day! First I get punished for something I didn't do, again. Then I'll stuck with you people, attacked by over-sized smerfs, and now this! Why me?"

"Hey! Whining girl!" Zack snapped, "We're still here, remember? WE have the same problem. WE are stuck with you." He circled his finger to signify the others and himself before pointing at Kimberly to emphasize his point.

"Wait!" Jason cut off Kimberly's come-back, "Listen, the voices are back!"

"Good, shut up and listen to them!" Kimberly spat.

"Shh!" Zack and Jason both motioned for Kimberly to silence herself as the voices became audible once again.

* * *

_"...ready for testing phase, shall I beam one of the humans here before we endow all of them with this power?"_

_"No, I want to explain to them what the risks are first, then we test all five. Wake them and activate the teleporter."_

_"Very well. Oh! It appears that I miscalculated the proper dosage for humans, they are already awake! Teleporting now."_

As in Ernie's, a field of white light surrounded the teens and in an instant, the bare room stood empty once more.

* * *

The teens found themselves standing on a new floor, but that wasn't the strangest thing they saw. For lack of a better term, the stood on what appeared to be a large floating platform made of the same material as the room they had just left. The reasons the teens thought of the new floor as a platform was that there were no walls, just a black abyss in every direction. The platform held several work stations with futuristic touch sensitive screens.

At the furtherest station stood a mechanical being. Its arms and legs looked like metal accordion tubes and its head was a copper colored saucer. The main body was red with several closed panels and the rest was an uncolored metal sheen. Then the robot turned and the teens saw the emblazoned golden thunderbolt on the robot's chest and the LED-like line of sensors on the saucer head.

"Oh! Hello humans!" The robot greeted the teens in a high-pitched, but cheerless voice, "I never thought the day would come when we would have to bring some of your kind here!" The robot's disbelief and disdain for the biological creature was evident in it's tone.

"Alpha!" A booming voice reprimanded the insulting android. The origin of the voice shocked the teens speechless. It came from the large, glowing blue tube beyond the robot. Inside of the tube a white and equally light-emitting face looked down upon the dumbfounded and staring humans.

* * *

"Be kind to these creatures and introduce yourself, they are here to save us as much as their planet!"

"Oh, very well." The robot grudgingly yielded to the head's demand. "My designation is 'Alpha 5.' I am the current assistant and curator of 'The Tribute to Zordon of Eltar.' Please don't touch anything you are unfamiliar with. For you five, that means everything." Alpha added to replace some of its lost pride.

"I do wish you would stop using that title Alpha; you make it seem as if I were dead." Zordon sighed to his robotic companion in a wearied tone.

Alpha turned to its master, "I cannot help it, my programing will not allow for a change to the name of this monument." It explained in a nagging manner, "You should be grateful for the honor your warrior bequeathed to you with it."

"Ah, never mind my young beings," the head turned its attention to the overwhelmed teens, "this is an argument that has been a source of debate between myself and my assistants ever since the original Alpha went on-line nearly ten thousand years ago. My name is Zordon. I originally hailed from the world of Eltar, some millions of light-years from this planet, on the other side of the galaxy. I saved you from certain destruction from the hands of Baboo and Squat, two henchmen of the evil Rita Repulsa."

"Ten-thousand years?"

"The planet Eltar?"

"Across the galaxy?"

"Squat and Baboo?"

"Rita Repulsa?"

The five teens suddenly exploded with questions to the people and places they did not recognize.

"Please, please quiet!" Zordon silenced the teens, "I'm afraid more explanation will have to wait. Rita and her minions are still here on the planet. I need the five of you to assist me in repelling them back to the moon before we can incarcerate them once more."

"Wait, you want us to fight those things that attacked us in Ernie's?" Kimberly asked incredulously.

"Yes." Zordon replied.

"Well, if you didn't notice, those things were ready to take our heads off, and they probably could have too." Jason objected.

"Yes they could have. But I will give you the means to defeat this invasion, for now." Zordon qualified himself.

"Alright then," Zack said, "Let's get this show on the road! I'm ready to have a little action."

"It is not that simple!" Alpha retorted.

"Indeed, this power may very well kill each one of you." Zordon explained, "If we are to give you such abilities, you must understand the risks involved. The chances that one of you will die from sensory overload is nearly 15%. The chance you die in battle if everything works properly is, at worst, 5%. Knowing this, do you still accept the power we offer?"

"Man, this is whack!" Jason bellowed, "Aliens, floating heads, robots?! Come on, are any of you buying this crap? I want out!"

"And doing so makes the destruction of your planet a certainty!" Alpha shouted back, "You will be the only five we offer this chance. You are able to withstand the stress that will be put on you and should something go wrong, you have a better chance to recover than any other age of your species."

"How good?" Trini asked quietly.

"Um...twenty percent, if you're lucky." Alpha admitted.

"Oh." Trini rapidly blinked in disbelief.

"What do you decide? Will you decline this one chance to save your planet and your species from annihilation? Or do you agree to bear the burden of Earth's defense?" Zordon implied the severity of the situation.

The teens all looked down to their feet, deep in thought. No one wanted to be the first to admit they would not die to save the planet. Then, one soul plucked up the courage to speak.

* * *

"I...I will...will accept the risks." The others stared at Billy, the geeky and nonathletic guy who it was said that couldn't outrun a football player in crutches. "I want...want to defend my planet."

"Me too." Trini shyly stepped up with Billy. He shot her a full smile. She smiled back, then blushed and returned her sight back to feet.

"Count me in too." Zack lifted his arm like he was back in class.

"I don't know guys. I mean, I don't want to die, there are so many things I haven't done." Kimberly began to ramble off a list of rather superficial things she wanted or wanted to do.

"Kimberly," Zack said, "How many things do you think you could actually finish before these bad guys kill you anyway? Why not fight back?"

"But you guys will fight them for me, won't you?" Kimberly asked honestly worried, "I mean, how hard could it be for you guys to hold them off? Besides how much help could I really be?"

"The addition of a fourth member gives us a fifty percent increase in probability of success over just three." Alpha answered.

"Fine, I give it a go. But if this bites into my gymnastics schedule, I'm out."

"Very well," Zordon welcomed her to the group, "and what about you?" Zordon asked Jason, "From our scans, you are the most capable of this group. You would be an ideal leader in the field."

"Wait, him?" Zack interrupted, "He tried to kill me already, twice."

"No I didn't," Jason defended himself, "I just want to teach you a lesson."

"If you agree, you must put aside your personal feelings for one another and act as a team." Zordon demanded, "If you do not, then this attempt will fail before we begin. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Billy, Trini, Zack, and Kimberly said.

"Fine, just make sure you all remember who's leader here." Jason stated.

"Good, Alpha, could you bring the morphers? We must begin initialization of the interface systems immediately if we are to keep the casualties to a minimum."

The five teens looked at one another with questioning eyes as Alpha returned its focus to the workstation. They each wondered just what they had gotten themselves into.

* * *

Next time on Power Rangers: Becoming Mighty- The updated suits and more technical aspects come to light as the Rangers power up for the first time.


	8. Chapter 7 Measured and Tested

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

I've been hedging on what exactly to do in this chapter, take the more direct path or the scenic route. You can probably guess which fork in the road I took. Hope that you enjoy it as much as I do when I mull over it.

Ch 7- Measured and Tested

* * *

The teens had been standing without directions for about five minutes as Zordon and Alpha continued to activate systems and programs none of the teens, not even Billy, understood. Finally, Alpha noticed the lost humans looking around the mysterious chamber.

"What are you still doing there? Oh, my mistake! I've forgotten to give you your morphers and suits." The metallic android shuffled over to another station and punched a sequence of holographic buttons. A smaller, rectangular platform rose from the black depths ladened with five distinct suits each with its own whit belt. "Please remove your clothing articles and install these items in the correct positions."

The teens eyed one another, then back at Alpha with the expression _'you've got to be kidding me'_ on their faces,

"What?" Alpha asked, "Are you unable to replace your clothes? Should I assist each of you in such a difficult task?" The robot again mocked the teens.

"No, is'...it's just that...that," Billy stammered.

"Just what? You're teenagers! Your species' media broadcasts display your excellent talent at removing and add clothing." Alpha used the example as a perceived truth.

"We don't feel comfortable revealing...revealing ourselves to each...each other." Billy managed to get out.

"Alpha," Zordon interrupted his work to address the problem, "Their culture is very different from my own. If they request individual room to change in, let them have it. We don't have the time to argue over such a small detail."

"Very well," Alpha caved to its master's demands, "Teleporting the humans to individual chambers with their suits and morphers."

"No!" Zordon scared everyone with his thunderous disapproval, "I will manage the morphers' and suits' transportation. Just take care of the humans, Alpha."

"Yes, Zordon." Alpha sounded unsure as he teleported the teens to their separate chambers. Then the android turned around and faced the giant, floating head. "What are you up to Zordon? We need to start as soon as possible. You said so yourself!"

"I know Alpha, but each of these humans are unique in their sentiments. I need a few moments to match them with the proper powers."

* * *

Jason waited patently in his small cell for almost three minutes without a suit and morpher. _'Great,' _he thought to himself, _'Zordon is punishing me for not taking his first offer. He's probably already given the others their powers and right now their out fighting those blue freaks and that Rita person.'_ Jason began to pace in the cramped room to try to calm himself down, but it didn't seem to work.

And just as he was ready to bang on the walls to be let out, a suit and belt materialized on the short bench behind him. Jason reached down and picked up the the whit belt by its buckle. Except it wasn't a buckle. The silver metal box that he held was six sided plus a front and back. The back featured a heavy-duty clip that attached what Zordon and Alpha had called a morpher. The front of the morpher was much more interesting as it there lied a golden coin dimly glowing a red light. An etching of a Tyrannosaurus Rex was vividly placed on the coin. Lettering ringed the edge of the coin with the phrases, "Power Morpher" and "Tyrannosaurus Rex."

"Weird," Jason said. Then he looked at the suit. It looked like it was made of a gray nylon or spandex. The arms would only go midway to Jason's bicep and the legs only halfway down his thighs. The word "Red" was spelled in the color across the right chest as Jason held it against his body to better measure the suit. A red line began just under the word and continued across until it ended under the left arm. The suit came apart in the back down to the leg split, but what kept the material together after one got in, Jason couldn't find.

"Hurry up humans!" Alpha's voice came from above Jason's head, "There isn't time to admire a machine's handiwork. Just put the suits on."

_'I guess the others are having just as much doubt about this as I am.' _Jason consoled himself as he flipped off his red top. _'Still, this is just too weird. Aliens, the giant floating head that commands a saucer-headed robot. I really hope I'm dreaming because I think I might enjoy waking up in my own bed.'_

* * *

By the time Jason was done feeling sorry for himself he had gotten the suit on. He felt for the split in the back, but was surprised to find it missing. Somehow the suit had solidified into a complete, body-encasing article. Jason spun so he could get a better look, and felt foolish for such a childish act. Then he realized that there were no seems at all on the suit. It was as if the suit had been created from a single, self-enclosing fabric. Jason gave up on the mystery with a shrug and donned the belt snuggly to his waist.

"Finally!" An exasperated Alpha vocalized. "I thought that those humans would never put those suits on. Initiating primary scanning devices and analyzing data for structural abnormalities."

Each of the teens' rooms went dark for a moment before a green light came on. Except that this was no ordinary light. It divided the room horizontally as it slowly moved down toward the frightened teenagers.

"Humans," came Zordon's voice, "Do not move. Alpha and I need all of you to stand in your normal positions so we can adapt the power to your bodies. This scan will not hurt and only take a few minutes."

The teens obeyed, although Kimberly and Zack were visibly shaking as the second dimensional area of light passed over their bodies. Once the light hit the floor, the normal lighting returned. Each teen exhaled deeply as everyone had held their breaths during the scan. Kimberly, Billy, and Trini sat down on the short benches while Zack and Jason remained standing.

* * *

"Alpha, I feel that we can proceed." Zordon stated after the computers had run the simulations for a few minutes. "It appears that the power can be held by each of them and they are compatible with the necessary hardware."

"I hope you know that I still disagree with this course of action." Alpha voiced his opinion, "But I agree with the data. Shall we begin morphing sequence now?"

"No, let us bring the humans here. If something should fail we must be swift in the diagnosis before harm comes to them."

"Very well, transporting now."

* * *

Five lights descended onto the platform: red, blue, yellow, pink, and somehow, black. The lights dissipated and the five teens in their gray suits and white belts stood outlined by the black abyss. Like Jason, the other teens had colors spelled out in their own color on their right breast and a similarly colored line underneath that ran to the left arm. The teens all glanced at one another, noticing the ways that the suits clung to others' bodies.

Each human also had a white belt with a morpher adorned on the front. Jason couldn't see what the other's morphers read or what image their golden coins held. He could only tell that they were not the same as his own.

"Thank you for agreeing to take on this momentous responsibility," Zordon began, "Without your willingness to sacrifice yourselves, Earth and the lives you knew would have been destroyed without a hope of survival. To protect you in the coming battle against the forces of evil, I will bestow upon each of you power that no one in the history of your species has achieved. But the knowledge of this power must be kept a secret from the rest of your society. For if they should discover that you five are the bearers of this gift, they would undoubtedly hinder the ultimate success of your endeavors. Do you understand?"

All of the teens nodded in unison.

"Very good." Zordon continued, "And now for the final stage in granting you the power to defend your planet. Alpha, you may proceed."

"Space yourselves out so you're not touching anything or one. Lift your arms to an equal height with that of your shoulders and spread your legs so there is a space of three feet between your feet."

The teens quickly complied and Alpha turned to Zordon, "Well, are you going to say it or not?"

"Yes Alpha, I will amuse you." Zordon sighed. Then, with a mighty shout he cried, "ALPHA, THROW THE SWITCH!"

"Yes Master!" Alpha replied as it hit a green colored holographic square.

* * *

The coins in each of the teen's morphers became bright in the same colors that the teens had appeared from moments ago. Seconds later the suits began to radiate the same light. Suddenly, armor began to appear across the chest, arms and legs of the teens. The rapidly expanding armor began to move to the parts of the body that the spandex suits were not covering. Soon, all that was left visible of the teens was their heads, but the clinking pieces of combining armor pieces began to outshine the lighting of the floating platform.

As the light became more and more intense, the teens sensed that there heads were being enclosed as well. Each one began to squirm, fighting to free themselves from the unexpected addition of clothing. But it was for naught as the five teens became lost behind the screen of five extraordinary, and brightly colored suits. Each armor had a white diamond-coated suit along with white hands, wrists, feet, ankles, and belts. However, the primary color of each armor was different from the others. In the place where Kimberly had stood, a pink, armor-clad body remained; for Zack, a black one; for Trini, a yellow one; for Billy, a blue one; and for Jason, a red one.

Although motionless on the outside, the teens remained busy inside their individual traps. Words and numbers flashed before the teens' eyes and their brains felt scrambled from the amount of thoughts passing through them. Soon, the five teens all saw the same message: 'Armor Adaptation and Cognitive Testing Completed.' Then, a vibrant scene of the floating platform with Alpha and Zordon came to each of them.

"I congratulate you, humans." Zordon's voice boomed from speakers near the teens ears, "You have completed all of the stages to obtain the power. You are now, and forever shall be known as the Power Rangers."

"What...what happened?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, what's going on? I thought we were supposed to get some powers, like super-strength or laser-beam eyes or something!" Kimberly complained.

"Sorry, princess, this is it." Alpha retorted.

"We have given you these five power suits. They are designed to increase your strength, reactions, speed, vision, hearing and also give you the necessary weapons to defeat the forces that threaten your ways of life." Zordon answered, "For now, we do not have the time to fully explain the complexities of your suits or train you in their use. The information and skills you need to fight in the impending battle are built into the suits. They will send mental stimuli into your brains, training you in whatever skill is appropriate for the situation."

"I don't understand. This thing," Zack said as he banged on his chest, "is in our heads?"

"Yes." Alpha answered, "But as Zordon said, we cannot explain it fully before you face Rita's forces. I've located their general location, but my sensors are unable to distinguish their exact position. I'll transport you there and you'll have to find and engage Rita's forces on your own. Zordon and I will monitor your progress from here and give directions when necessary."

"Go now Power Rangers." Zordon said farewell, "and may the Power protect you."

Alpha touched a few holo-buttons and the rangers were once again enveloped in the light of their color armors. The light zoomed up and out of ' The Tribute to Zordon' as the rangers made their way to the defense of Earth.

* * *

"Ai-yai-yai-yai-ai! So much rides on their weak shoulders." Alpha lamented as it placed its hands on its head.

"I know Alpha," Zordon tried to comfort his robotic compatriot, "but I have a feeling that these five humans may be able to come through this alive."

"The key word being may-be." Alpha replied.

* * *

If I'm not clear on what has been described in this previous chapter, please let me know. I just don't feel comfortable about some of this.


	9. Chapter 8 The Possibilities of Power

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

Ch 8- The Possibilities of Power

* * *

The red, black, pink, blue, and yellow masses of light touched down in the pre-dawn Mojave Desert. The lights faded away to reveal the five Power Rangers in their colored armor.

For a moment the Rangers couldn't see a thing in the pitch darkness, then the suit's thermal sensors came online and the world became a landscape of red and blues.

"Yo!" Zack yelled out in surprise at the sudden visual pop-up.

"Wow." Billy said, "Fully integrated inferred sensors. I wonder what other devices this armor has installed."

"Sorry, but the time to find all of the little wonders that the power suits come with will have to wait." Alpha's voice came over the armor's speakers, "I've been able to pin-point Rita's location to somewhere within a radius of 18 miles from your current location." As the robot's information came to the rangers, figures on the search area and the designated paths each Ranger should take came into the Ranger's vision.

"Wait, Alpha, that means we have over one thousand square miles to cover. That would take us hours!" Billy objected.

"For normal humans on foot, yes, such a search would take days. But your suits will allow you to cover the distance much quicker. The suits also have built-in sensors that will detect any suspicious life-forms and alert you to their presence." As Alpha explained the suit's capabilities, the teens suddenly became aware of the very sensors the android was talking about.

"Alpha," Billy interrupted again, "Why, when you just detailed a feature of this armor, did I suddenly know every piece of information about the sensors."

"Yeah, same for me." Kimberly interjected.

"That would be the power suits' synaptic interfaces." Zordon took over the conversation, "It is what allows the suit to follow and enhance your motions and, conversely, the suit uploads readings, information, and anything necessary to complete your mission. But we will have more time to fully brief you on your powers, now you must find Rita and force her and her subordinates off of the planet. Once one of has located her, you should wait until the others have joined you. You each have your directions, GO!"

As if by instinct, the Rangers each turned to their respective vectors and leapt into motion.

* * *

"Woo-Ho!" Zack bellowed as he hulk leapt from point to point. "Man, this is awesome!" He said as displayed the necessary force required for him to land and take-off again.

_'Impact in three...two...one.' _The suits computer counted down in Zack's head. However, instead of landing on solid rock as Zack had the previous fifteen jumps, he fell into a pit of sand and buried himself up to his armpits from the force of his landing. _'Warning, Ground Unstable. Minimal movement __required until rescuers arrive.'_

"Gee, thanks for warning me." Zack muttered to the suit, "Now how do I get out?" He threw his hands up in disgust.

_'Reduce your movements at once or this unit will be paralyzed until help arrives.' _The computer's thoughts felt threatening.

"What you mean I have to wait for one of the others?" Zack asked, "Un-uh. Just power up the emergency boosters or something and I'll be one my way."

_'No such instrumentation exists on this unit. Black Ranger must wait for assistance.'_

"Why don't we just teleport out of this mess and over on top of that big rock?" Zack queried.

_'Site-to-site transporting is not permissible except in extreme cases of necessity.'_

"Listen," Zack lobbied the machine inside his head, "If you force one of the others out of their search area, we might miss Rita and let her harm more people. I'd say that defines an emergency."

The computer was silent for a moment. _'Seeking approval from home base.' _Another few seconds went by until, _'Approval granted, transport sequence initialized.'_

The Black Ranger disappeared from the sand trap in a streak of black light and reappeared on a rock formation not twenty feet away.

"Good, now where to next?"

* * *

Kimberly rounded the base of another plateau at approximately 78 mph when her footing inexplicably gave way and she tumbled several hundred yards on the rough gravel.

"Ohhhhh." Kimberly said as she tried to bring herself into a sitting position. "Why did I agree to do this. I need to practice the rolls for my floor routine, not out here on some damn rocks!"

_'Warning,'_ her suit's computer chimed in her brain, _'Damage to exoskeleton motors. Attempting to compensate...unable to complete necessary movements.' _The screen in front of Kimberly's eyes displayed schematics of the suit and highlighted the damaged areas. _'Repair procedures required. Estimated time until necessary motor functions return, two hours.'_

"I don't have two hours." Kimberly wearily replied, "Is there any way for me to go on with these damaged parts? I mean, I've had sprains in about every joint of my body and I've still won competitions."

_'Mobility and fighting ability are severely hampered by damage. Best course of action: Return to Command Center for repairs. Secondary action: Go to Light Armor Mode, removing damaged systems and returning mobility. Warning, this procedure removes several layers of protection, making biological damage or death more possible.'_

"Let's do that. Go to Light Armor Mode!" Kimberly stood at the prospect of returning to the search.

_'Removing excess armor and systems...removal complete. Pink Ranger now in Light Armor Mode.' _The computer's 'voice' ended its report.

"Alright, time to jet!"

* * *

Billy had been rather distracted during his search as he focused his mind on the information he could ween from the suit's computer. He had just finished uploading a segment on something called "Power Weapons" but the information felt incomplete, as if the computer was holding back details on him.

"Wait, I don't understand." Billy asked out loud, "The files describe what my power weapon is and the technique to use it with, but I don't know how to actually acquire it."

_'The Command Center has restricted some information until it becomes imperative to the completion of the mission or the survival of the Rangers.' _The 'voice' in Billy's head replied.

"But why is this information being withheld when other portions are not?"

_'I can not say. The reasons behind the restrictions on new users were not included in this unit's programing.'_

"Well, hopefully I won't need it anyway." Billy said. He added in his thoughts, _'Besides I already know about the Power Blasters.' _As the Blue Ranger thought about his small weapons they extended from his Ranger Armor, one from each hip. Billy grabbed them both and heard the distinct clink as the Blasters detached from their protected storage areas. The Power Blaster originally came out in their blade mode, with normal and energized settings. The dual weapons could also become blasters shaped like a normal earth gun or they could be attached to the Rangers' forearms in blade mode to change the pace of battle. Every Ranger had these weapons in their arsenal, Billy knew that much, but what kind of 'Power Weapon' the others may or may not have was still a mystery.

_'Warning, Blue Ranger!' _The computer interrupted Billy's train of thought.

"Yes!" A startled Billy answered.

_'You have completed your assigned course. You should return to initial entrance point and wait for one of the other Rangers to return.'_

Billy looked at the screen as it displayed the distance he had covered in only a half-an-hour. "Okay," he said as he began to bound back to the transportation site, "Why don't we look at the data on armor capacity?"

* * *

Trini had also finished her sweep of the area and begun the trip back to the search area's parameters. "You're sure the others' haven't radioed in?" Trini asked her suit for the twentieth time.

_'Negative, the other Rangers have not reported any suspicious readings. They are also likely returning to initial entrance point.'_

"I hope they're okay. I don't think I could stand to have anyone die because I wasn't there to help."

The computer sighed in Trini's mind. _'If it will make you any less aggravated, Yellow Ranger, this unit can uplink with the other units to ensure that none of the other Rangers are in danger.'_

"Yes, please do!" Trini nearly squealed as she leapt into the sky once more.

_'One moment, detecting other synaptic uplinks.......connecting....'_

The wait seemed unbearable as Trini began to fall back to Earth.

_'Connected to four additional units.' _The screen displayed five dots colored red, blue, yellow, black, and pink on a map of the search area. _'Only the Pink Ranger reports previous damage, however, parts have been removed and unit is at 100% in Light Armor Mode. No other reports from additional units.' _The screen returned to the approaching dawn in the desert.

_'Stay safe, Billy.' _Thought Trini.

* * *

Jason, however, had not begun his return route because he was too busy squabbling with his own suit over the area he had actually covered.

"What do you mean I only scanned 95% of my assigned sector?" Jason screamed into the metal helmet, "Stayed on course the entire time!"

_'No, Red Ranger jumped to altitudes too high for this unit's scanners to properly detect possible extraterrestrial lifeforms.'_

"Fine, where do I have to go to cover these missing places?" As Jason asked the screen brought up a map of his search area and highlighted where the sensors had been unable to scan. "Great, these are all on the edges of my sector. It'll take me almost an hour to get back with the others. Why don't we just return to the center to meet up with the others? Rita obviously isn't here." Jason lobbied his suit for the break.

_'Negative.' _The computer responded,_ 'Red Ranger must complete his assigned mission before regrouping with the other Rangers. Failure to do so will result in termination of powers.'_

"Piss off!" Jason said as he stomped around for a few minutes to consider his options. "Okay, plot the fastest course to cover the unscanned areas. Now, let's see how fast this thing can go." And with that, the armored Red Ranger took off at a sprint for the first of four small areas he had missed in his first pass.

* * *

Billy, Trini, Kimberly, and Zack all met up at the original transport site just over one hour after they had left each other.

"Anybody out of breath here?" A jubilant Zack asked the others.

"Nope." Kimberly smiled behind her helmet.

"I am breathing within a normal rate of respiration." Billy answered somewhat amazed at himself.

"I'm good." Trini said quietly.

"Where's Jason?" Kimberly asked, "I thought he'd be here first."

"I don't know, maybe our great leader decided to run off." Zack said as he cautiously watched the skies for a falling red bullet.

"I'll check on his position." Trini volunteered.

"No, you don't have to search for him." Zack held his hand up to stop the Yellow Ranger.

"Oh, I won't. I found out that our suits can uplink with the others and discover their positions, status, and even communicate with them." Trini explained as her suit searched for the other suits.

"Really?" Billy was amazed at Trini's discovery, "I'd didn't find that in experimenting with my suit...oh, there it is. Buried underneath synaptic pathways. I didn't try that block of information because I don't understand the human body very well." The Blue Ranger rambled on about how he could only every get B's in biology and anatomy.

"Well, if...if you ever need help with...st-studying...I'm training to be a nurse." Trini said while waiting for the uplink with Jason. "Oh! I've connected! Jason is about two miles from here, but he's not moving. I'll open a communication line."

The Black, Blue, and Pink Rangers crowded around the Yellow Ranger as they awaited her reply. "Jason! This is Trini, come in Jason!"

"Guys, I need help! I'm being attacked by these things!"

"Hold on Jason! We're coming!" Trini shouted.

Just as Trini assured Jason, an explosion ripped apart the ground beneath the Rangers and they were flung to the ground like dolls. Woozy and disorientated, Zack saw gray, faceless creatures approaching himself and the others before the world went dark.

* * *

**Next Time on Power Rangers: Becoming Mighty-** The Rangers must fight for their survival and for control of the Power Suits. Will Rita overpower Earth's only defenders or can the Rangers stave off the impending doom? Find out next chapter. (Please Review- both the chapter and entire story.)


	10. Chapter 9 Necessities for Survival

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

It's been awhile, but I've finally managed to finish Ch 9. Because of my delay in producing chapters, I will be unable to finish _Becoming Mighty_ in my pre-planned schedule. I am going to finish it, but when I return to school in one week I may be slower (if that's possible) in turning out more chapters.

Ch 9- Necessities for Survival

* * *

Trini awoke to the sound of cackles and howling shrieks. She opened her eyes and found only darkness. For a moment, she panicked. Then Trini realized that was still in the yellow ranger armor. She tried to issue commands to her suit computer through the synaptic interfaces, but there was no response from the alien technology. Trini thought about trying a voice command but the shrieks and laughter sounded so close to the Yellow Ranger she decided to continue her silence.

Trini waited for what seemed an eternity blind, but painfully listening to the various sounds and shouts that emanated from around her. Her mind began to recall some of her deepest fears and the Yellow Ranger tried harder and harder to block out the noise. Instead her mind amplified the sounds and soon Trini gasped for breath and trembled within her armor.

* * *

Jason couldn't get away. The gray beings he had come upon had formed a perimeter around the Red Ranger and every time he tried to leap out of the obvious trap, two of the creatures would also jump and pull him down to earth. Jason had also tried fighting some of the faceless beings, but his hand simply entered their gooey bodies and became stuck. Once the Ranger had even got each hand caught in separate creatures and a third launched a devastating attack.

Jason's suit, meanwhile, had been observing the tactics and abilities of these unknown adversaries. After approximately 34 minutes and 27 seconds, it teleported the Red Ranger to a hidden position some 200 meters from the battle scene.

"What's going on?" Jason shouted up at the overlooking rocks.

_'This unit found it necessary to remove the Red Ranger from battle to improve his chances of success.' _The computer's voice responded.

"How am I going to win against those things?" Jason pointed out with his left arm as he bend over, gasping for air, "Every time I tried to punch on of them, they just absorbed it or something. It's like they're made of glue."

_'This unit has information linking these beings with the title of "Putties"' _Several boxes with text and animation revealing the computer's full information, _'This unit finds it necessary to inform the Red Ranger more completely on his arsenal.'_

"Alright," Jason said as he stood up, "show me what you've got."

_'First, the generic weapon every Ranger possesses is the "Power Blaster..."' _The computer began to explain the various armaments of the Red Ranger Armor.

* * *

Trini had nearly blacked-out from fright twice during the minutes of waiting. Her body was drenched in sweat and her pulse felt like it ran at 200 bpm. Then the voice became distinct.

"I say we kill them NOW!" Boomed a growling voice to Trini's left. Footsteps pounded in the Yellow Ranger's ears as her captors drew closer.

"They weren't much fight for the putties. I think we should let Zordon have his fun with these pitiful creatures." A venomous voice came from Trini's right.

"I would like to better examine this technology Zordon has created. With ten-thousand years of work on them, I'm sure there is much I could learn." An aged voice sounded directly in front of Trini.

"Pah! What do we need these things for?" A heavy and dull-witted voice spoke up, "Besides, we beat them so easy, their tech-no-gy no match for us." The end of the sentence brought a powerful kick to the Yellow Ranger's side. Trini crumbled and moaned to the floor. A collective gasp came from the unknown captors.

"Awake, hu?" Trini was rapidly pulled up and suspended from the floor. "Thought you'd spy on us? Learn our secrets? Did you think we didn't know!"

"I think you didn't know Baboo!" The slow voice chuckled.

"Shut up Squat!" Baboo responded.

Trini's head throbbed from the combined pain and terror she felt. Her mind barely recognized what happened for the next few minutes.

"Hm, interesting." The aged voice sounded very close to Trini. "What sort of device allowed this human to keep it's consciousness hidden from us?"

"It does not matter!" The growling voice barked, "The very fact this creature avoided discovery proves their ability to disrupt our plans. I will ensure that they do not have the chance to do so, with or without your help."

"Oh, very well!" Baboo said, "At least let us enjoy ripping them to shreds."

With that, Trini was carried out of the dark cave. Behind her, the Blue, Black, and Pink Rangers were unmercifully dragged into the desert morning, and their deadly predicament.

* * *

Jason slashed, hacked, and occasionally blasted through the putties. The putties took the beating and continued to hunt the Red Ranger, but soon their effectiveness degraded to nothing. Jason was able to obliterate the remain pieces of the putties with a few high-powered blaster shots.

"Finally!" Jason nearly collapsed from exhaustion, "Let's find the others and get out of here."

_'Negative. Red Ranger must complete objective. Rita Repulsa must be forced into a retreat.'_

"No offense, but I don't think I can take much more of this."

_'This unit is injecting biological boosters into Red Ranger's systems. Biological systems will return to 98% energy at injections' completion.'_

"Okay," Jason began to feel a little better as he thought out his next question, "how about giving me something a little bigger to fight with?" Jason re-inserted the power blasters into his armor.

_'This unit only carries the power blasters.'_

"Then I don't think I'll be getting very far." Jason despaired.

_'However,' _the computer continued, _'this unit is capable of molecularizing a Power Weapon. Specifically, Red Ranger can wield the Power Sword.'_

"Um, okay. How do I 'materialize' this sword?"

_'Uploading necessary information to Red Ranger...Upload complete.'_

Suddenly, Jason understood the scientific reasoning behind the molecularization process, despite not passing chemistry in high school. In one swift motion, the armored Ranger thrust his open palm to the surface of a nearby rock face. Red energy glowed from Jason's hand into the rock. The energy began to take the shape of a sword nearly three and a half feet long and an inch wide. The hilt was simple, big enough for two hands to grasp, and a slight bulge with the crest of the Tyrannosaur connected it to the blade. While the rock was shaped into the sword, the very material changed into energized material, though not as powerful as the Martian mineral that constituted the suit. With a final burst of light, the sword fell free of the rock face and was gripped tightly in the Red Ranger's hand.

"That's what I'm talking about! Now, where are the others?"

_'Blue, Yellow, Black, and Pink Rangers approximately two miles east of Red Ranger's position.' _A map of the area pinpointed Jason's and the others' positions. _'Pink, Blue, and Black Rangers are non-responsive. Yellow Ranger is under great duress, but that unit's synaptic interface is disrupted. Red Ranger can re-initialize the other Rangers by bringing this unit within two feet of each unit. This unit will remote access and reboot other units.'_

"Good plan." Jason said as he took his first leap into the rescue mission.

* * *

Trini was roughly forced to kneel after the creature, Baboo, dropped her unceremoniously. With her suit computer not responding to her, the armor had become dead weight, the gears and motors no longer amplifying her movements. Aching from the sheer effort to perform small movements, sore from Squat's kick, and pushed to the point of insanity, Trini only hazily heard the sound of Billy, Kimberly, and Zack being dragged near her.

But the voice of a new captor instantly shook Trini out of her half-daze.

"What are these things? Zordon's pets?" The female voice spat. The sound of her staff clinking against one of the other's suits rang out. "Does he dress them in these colorful suits and let them run about, taking part in his schemings?"

"Your wickedness," the growling voice rumbled, "It appears that these four are all that the mighty Zordon sent to attack us. The scouts have not reported any others in the area."

"Thank you for your report, Goldar." A small silence as Rita thought through what her lieutenant had just said. "Ha!" She squealed in delight, "The old fool must be weaker than even I thought! Sending these inferior beings, he must be all alone! Barely even worth my time."

"Your wickedness is not suggesting that we simply leave Zordon alone?" Goldar inquired.

"No, of course not you fool!" Rita snarled, "We must show Zordon that if he is going to hide behind such pathetic creatures, he dooms them to complete annihilation! Finster, Baboo, Squat! We are returning to the tower."

"And my orders?" Goldar knelled in front of his queen.

"You, Goldar, will destroy these four and then begin the destruction of every city on the planet. If Zordon wants to play war, I'll give him one."

With that, Rita created another vortex and she, Finster, Baboo, and Squat disappeared.

Goldar drew his sword from his side and leveled the blade on the head of the Yellow Ranger.

"Let's see how many swings it takes to to crack this egg!"

The golden clad dog-man lifted his sword to deliver a deadly blow to the dazed Trini.

* * *

But the strike never came to the head of the Yellow Ranger as Jason landed with the force of a supersonic jet on top of Goldar. The impact shook the ground and the earth beneath Goldar crumbled into a fifteen foot crater. The Red Ranger slowly lifted himself off of the golden warrior and walked over to his fellow Rangers.

_'Initializing remote uplink.' _The computer announced.

"Hurry up." Jason said in a hushed voice, "No telling how long that thing is going to stay down."

"No time at all." Came Goldar's response.

Jason turned to see the dog-man lifting his sword from the ground. Goldar's eyes burned in a seething red and his lips curled in the deepest of growls.

"So, Zordon did send another. Perhaps you'll be more of a challenge than your fellow beings"

_'Reboot complete. Red Ranger should order all units to retreat teleport to Command Center. Objective achieved.'_

"No, this guy's still here. I've got to deal with him."

_'Warning! Other units severely damaged. Battle effectiveness minimal. Red Ranger will be alone.'_

"And that's the way I prefer it." Jason ended his conversation with the computer and turned his attention to Goldar. "Alright ugly, let's see what you've got!"

* * *

The Red and Golden armored foes charged each other, blades glowing in the early morning light. Trini's screen came online just as Jason and Goldar made their first swings at each other. Then a yellow light enshrouded her vision for a moment until darkness returned. Trini turned her head to find herself and the others back in the Command Center. The Red Ranger stood in front of Zordon, a sword gripped in his hand.

Trini found the strength to push herself up and shuffled over to where Jason bitterly argued with the encased being and the robot assistant.

"Send me back there. I could have handled it!" Jason shouted.

"NO!" Zordon's voice filled the void surrounding the platform, "I cannot afford to take such risks with your lives. Goldar has retreated to the moon, he seems to have been quite injured from your attack." Zordon noticed the approach of the Yellow Ranger at this moment. "And we have our own injuries to heal. How are you feeling Trini?"

" Ai-yai-yai-yai-ai! Trini, you should not be up!" Alpha shook its hands above its saucer-shaped head. "I will bring the medical platform online and fix up all of you soon." The robot touched a few holo-buttons and another platform appeared from the darkness. Alpha then transported itself and the five Rangers to the medical platform and began to de-morph the humans.

* * *

Zordon returned to his inspection on the readings from the Rangers' battle. Despite his worst fears, the humans had completed their mission without killing themselves.

"Perhaps we have a chance after all." Zordon spoke aloud before the light from his container dimmed.


	11. Chapter 10 Removing the Shadows

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

**I'm sorry to say that this may be the first of a very long line of inconsistently produced chapters. My classwork this semester is massive, so I no longer have the time to devote to this story. I promise that I will complete it, but it may take a very long, long time to finish. Please don't be discouraged, but this is a necessary step to ensure the continued quality of my work. Enjoy the chapter.**

Ch 10- Removing the Shadows

* * *

In...and out.

The first thing Kimberly became aware of was her own breathing.

In...and out.

Her head pounded and the ringing in her ears was deafening. Kimberly wrinkled her face and tried to calm her mind down so the pain would stop.

In...and out.

Eventually, the ringing wanned and Kimberly could hear the outside world. But she heard almost nothing.

In...and out.

Kimberly tried to will the pain in her head to cease, but soon a new wave crashed over her and Kimberly fell once again into darkness.

* * *

In...and out.

Kimberly became consciousness again. This time, there was no ringing and her head didn't feel so bad. She could hear parts of a conversation that apparently was taking place in the same room, but far enough away to lose some words.

"...data is inconclusive...must wait for the humans..."

"Agreed...this is a sign that they are capable..."

"...armors require extensive repairs...two weeks minimum...fill the empty spot?"

_'Empty Spot?' _Kimberly thought as the conversation ended. _'What do they mean? Oh! Could on of the others have died?! What if they've decided to replace me!? No, I didn't do anything wrong, but maybe they didn't like it when I fell and had to go to Light Armor Mode. How can they blame me? I did everything to do what they told me! They can't get rid of me, I won't let them!"_

With such resolve, the brunette gymnast opened her eyes. For a moment, Kimberly's sight swam, but she was used to such problems on a balance beam. She sat up and her vision sharpened. She sat on a small bed that jutted from the wall. Four other similar beds were to her right; three were occupied. Billy, Trini, and Zack seemed to be resting peacefully, small metal instruments were attached to their bodies and IV units ran to their left forearms.

Kimberly's eye's widened at the sight of the common medical tubes. She reached down without looking and found where the tubing was taped to her own arm. She shuttered. Ever since she was four years old, Kimberly had feared the very though of needles. She had received a bad injection and her legs became useless for nearly a whole month.

In and out. In and out. In and out.

Kimberly's breath rate increase and her heart probably began to pump harder too as the holographic screen next to her bed began to give off an EKG machine noise. This attracted the attention of the person who was conversing early at the other end of the room.

"Ai-yai-yai-yai-ai! What now?" Alpha's distinct voice rang off the metal walls. The robot shuffled closer, "Oh! Kimberly, well...it's good to see you awake." The android looked over the holographic readout. "Looks like you are much better, but I'll want to keep you here for awhile."

"Alpha? What's going on?" Kimberly worriedly asked the robot, "What did you mean earlier...when you said...said 'empty spot'?"

"Eh? You were awake then!?" Alpha stepped back in shock, "Well...well...I shouldn't tell you anything. And besides, you need to rest. Worry about that later." Alpha rested a hand on Kimberly's shoulder.

"But why isn't Jason here?" She looked down at the unoccupied bed, "He isn't...isn't dead, is he?"

"No, Jason is fine. Stop worrying and get some rest."

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?"

"It's not my place. It is for Zordon to decide when to tell you."

"Then I want to talk to him, RIGHT NOW" Kimberly screamed the last two words into the saucer head of Alpha.

"Oh! Very well." Alpha sighed, "Let me warn Zordon what is coming his way before I transport you." Alpha removed the metal objects from Kimberly and pulled the IV out before returning to the desk where it had been before. Alpha touched a few holo-buttons and opened a communication line with Zordon.

"Zordon?"

"Yes, Alpha."

"Kimberly is awake and demands to see you." The Pink Ranger stood over the desk with her arms crossed.

"Teleport her here Alpha."

"Teleporting now."

* * *

The cylinder of pink light encased Kimberly for a moment and then she stood on the command platform once more. However, there were no lights on. The holographic displays had been turned off and Zordon's tube had gone dark. For a moment, Kimberly thought that Alpha had teleported Alpha to a different platform. But then she could see a blue light rising from below the platform and soon Zordon appeared. The floating head had, in his return to the level of the command platform, revealed that his tube stretched far below the command platform and probably above as well.

"You wish to speak with me?" Zordon inquired of his ranger.

"Yeah! I want answers!" Kimberly felt the frustration and anger rushing through her body, "What happened to Jason? Why isn't he here? Is Rita gone or did she win?"

"Rita did not win." Zordon began, "Your inability to vanquish her weakest warriors convinced her that I am no longer a threat worthy of her attention. She returned to her moon stronghold and left her lieutenant, Goldar to finish the four of you off."

"So, when we didn't answer Jason's call for help, he died?" Kimberly flinched in the anticipated answer.

"No."

Kimberly's face lit up.

"Jason was able to save you all from certain death and nearly killed himself. However," Zordon paused to contemplate his next words, "Jason demanded to be returned home and have his powers removed. Alpha transported him back yesterday to the area that we rescued the five of you from earlier. He is most likely still recovering from the exhaustion of battle"

"Yesterday?" Kimberly's face betrayed her sense of astonishment. "What day is today?"

"The day after I sent you on your mission. I believe you would classify it as Saturday."

"Saturday." Kimberly thought this over, "But I don't understand, why did Jason leave? He was obviously the best one if he saved the rest of us."

"Jason was unhappy with my decision to recall the five of you from battle. He engaged Goldar in unnecessary combat. I debriefed him rather roughly and he decided to leave rather than face my scrutiny."

* * *

Kimberly stared off into the darkness, mulling over Zordon's story. "So, what do we do now?" Kimberly flopped her hands against her side.

"Alpha needs several weeks to repair the suits. I believe that Rita will not make a strike against Earth until the repairs are complete."

"Oh, well I guess that I should get ready for the first week of classes then."

"Yes, you must maintain a normal life, but while Alpha is busy repairing the suits, I will teach you and the others more of the secrets behind the technology behind your Ranger Armor."

With that, lights appeared beyond the platform in the dark void. The darkness lifted and Kimberly saw that the command platform wasn't floating, but supported by a single arch that reached several yards beyond the viewing globe at the far end. Zordon's cylinder container was the center of the circular room, with three arches occasionally reaching out from the wall and joining around the tube. Each other arch held its own platform, some enclosed, some open. No arches ranged above the command platform, only a black dome with a handful of spotlights marked the top of the massive room.

Kimberly took one glance over the edge and quickly brought her eyes back to Zordon's floating head. The bottom wasn't in sight, just more arches and platforms.

'What is this place?" Kimberly began to tremble.

"This is the Command Center. You are currently standing on the Command Platform. Here is the master controls for every piece of technology in the center. There are over 30 platforms functioning at this time."

"Um, I don't feel so good." Kimberly was visibly shaking now.

"Alpha!" Zordon boomed. "Transport Kimberly to the medical platform, immediately!"

But Zordon was too late and Kimberly collapsed onto the floor. The pink light surrounded the unconscious teenager and she re-appeared in the medical bed she had left just ten minutes ago.

* * *

Jason awoke in his dorm. Light from the high California sun flashed through the branches across his face. Jason snapped into an upright position to avoid being blinded by the bright light. But Jason had forgotten that he slept in the lower part of a bunk and loudly thumped his head upon the wooden frame of the higher bed. Jason's head fell against his pillow as he firmly clamped his hand on the spot that would surely hold a good-sized bruise later.

"Oh!" Jason groaned, "Just my luck."

The red-clad teenager eventually rolled out of bed, shuffling his way towards the small attached bathroom. He removed his shirt and turned on the shower. He moved his gaze towards the mirror and Jason was shocked into his complete senses. He still wore a shirt, a tight-fitting black shirt with a single red stripe across the chest.

Back on his bed, the Red Ranger morpher faintly glowed in a red hue.


	12. Chapter 11 When Life Gives You

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

**Ah, Spring Break! I promised a few people that I would do a few chapters this week. That might turn out to only be this one cause I've got two papers to work on this week. But still, it feels good to be back.**

Ch 11- When Life Gives You Grapefruit...

* * *

Kimberly found herself back on the medical cot. She felt significantly better than the last time she could remember being awake. Her head didn't pound against the confinement of her skull. Her body no longer cried out with every movement. It was as if she awoke from a long, deep sleep and all of her ailments had disappeared with time lost.

Kimberly experimented by flexing various muscles groups, first her neck, next the shoulders, arms, torso, legs, and finally, feet. Everything seemed to work fine, but Kimberly did not open her eyes. She still felt exhausted for some reason. Although her body had been rejuvenated her mind could not accept it. So she lay still for a few minutes and soundlessly drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Alpha worriedly paced the length of the command platform. The lights among the center's expanse had gone dark once more, creating the effect that the command platform rested in a void. The small android's metal feet clanked against the hard surface, its hands performing exaggerating motions displaying Alpha's tension. The face of Zordon floated in the his blue cylinder, calmly taking in his assistant's frustration.

"I just don't understand, Zordon. Why did you let the Red Ranger go and not take away his powers? You heard what he said, Jason won't come back. We need to begin the search for a new Ranger immediately. It will take several hours for the Red Armor to be restored to its original configuration and the Red Suit should be washed. These humans can be particular when it comes to their clothing items and cleanliness. I really think..."

"Alpha!" Zordon interrupted, "I have my reasons for letting Jason leave with the Tyrannosaur Power. In the past, you have trusted my instincts. I hope that you will do so again."

The robot sighed and sagged its body.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. I just feel uncomfortable about our current situation. The four other Rangers haven't returned to consciousness save for Kimberly's episode eighteen hours ago. We NEED to have at least one active Ranger to combat Rita's minions, should she choose to attack again soon."

"The Red Ranger IS active, Alpha. Despite his adamant refusal to work in coordination with us, I believe Jason will be a major player in deciding the level of our success."

* * *

Jason fell to the bathroom floor, exhausted from attempting to remove the spandex suit for the past hour. His fingers had nearly gone over every square inch of the black material, feeling for a zipper, strip of velcro, tear, or even just a seam. But the alien clothing was impenetrable to Jason's probing. His back and shoulders complaining from the strain of being put in difficult positions, Jason let out a series of groans and curses.

After a few minutes of self-pity, Jason realized he could not just sit by and let something ruin his life. _'After all,'_ he thought, _'I came here just to do karate, not to save the world from alien attack.'_

Jason burst into laughter.

"What am I thinking?" He shouted to the empty room. "Aliens, a giant floating head and his robot? Teenagers defending the planet? Ha! Sounds like something out of a comic book."

With such resolve that all this must be some sort of joke, Jason pulled himself up from the floor, turned off the running shower, and returned to his bedroom to grunge up some clothes to cover his tight spandex suit. But when Jason turned to sit on his bed and put on a pair of shorts, he stopped short. There, lying against the wall, just across the bed, sat the Power Morpher. Jason stared, his mouth hung open, saliva built up in his mouth.

Jason remained motionless until a cascade of human liquid came crashing over his lips and down his chin. With the sudden movement of someone who has been caught starring, Jason jerked up, scrapping his back against the upper bunk and dropping the shorts in the process, he wiped the spit from his face and shallowed what was left in his mouth.

The Red Ranger took several deep breaths to calm himself down. After a minute and a particularly deep sigh, Jason turned to face the thing that startled him so much. The morpher was there, on his bed.

"Shit," Jason muttered, "It's not a joke."

Dropping his chin to rest on his chest, Jason fell into some deep, but mostly ambiguous thoughts about the past two days. He wondered what he could do.

He stood for a long time.

* * *

On the moon, Rita, frustrated at her warrior's inability to kill Zordon's brats, paced across the barren hall of her former prison. She had taken up residence in the tallest tower of her new palace, but the space was too small and cramped. Plus she wanted to be somewhere all of her minions could hear her screams. For hours her hard-heeled shoes clicked against the Martian-mineral floor. Finally, her energy sagged and she flopped into a nearby chair.

"Oh, I have such a headache! Why is good help so hard to find?"

At that moment, thinking the worst was over, Squat came into the main hall. The short creature had been waiting for Rita to leave so it could go to its own quarters and sleep. Halfway to his destination, Rita spotted him, and in a new wave of fury, tossed the chair at her blue minion.

The chair shattered from the impact with Squat, but the creature's motion wasn't hindered by the blow. It only managed to entice Squat to move faster towards the entrance of his dwelling. It quickly shut the door behind itself as Rita reached for another chair and promptly locked the door.

Rita's squeals continued for several more hours. Beneath her, in the lowest levels of the tower, Finster sat at a table computer. His long, slim fingers flowing over the screen's surface as the dog-man concocted the means for his mistress's takeover of Earth.

* * *

**So, I failed to finish this over break, but I did finish it. I might make a more conscious effort to publish a few more chapters, but I promise nothing until May. I'd like to hear your thoughts on my creation. Concepts, grammar, descriptions, let me know what you're thinking.**


	13. Chapter 12 Sometimes You Cry Into

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Power Rangers, Saban and Disney do.

* * *

**Welcome back to this reboot of MMPR. I hope you've been eagerly anticipating the coming of this chapter for months. This is my first attempt at a chapter since completing number 11, so I apologize if there are some stylistic differences here...**

Ch 12- ...Sometimes You Cry Into the Juice

* * *

The gym floor of Ernie's Bar was abnormally empty for a Sunday afternoon. Only one red clad figure worked the mats, going through series of punches and kicks he could have done in his sleep. Jason had come not to work out his newfound problem of being a ranger, but to escape thinking about the past few days in general. Jason retreated from the world when he did an individual workout, his mind emptied and his body became machine-like in it's movements. But today Jason could not escape the feeling of guilt he had for how things had ended with Zordon. His face must have shown his discomfort as Ernie was slowly making his way over.

"Hey Jason, how are you? You look like you're holding something back today." Ernie, concerned, asked.

"Huh? Oh, hey Ernie. I'm okay man. I'm okay" Jason shook his head and wiped the sweat that clung to his forehead.

"You sure buddy? You've got this feel about you that says somethings off. You know if you ever want to talk about stuff I've always got an ear open."

"Yeah, no. I'm fine...really. Thanks though Ernie."

"Whatever you say." Ernie said, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. He made his way back to the bar area when a familiar, green adorned fellow entered the main doors.

* * *

"Hey Ernie!" Tommy enthusiastically greeted the large man, "How's it going?"

"Well," Ernie started as he glanced back at Jason, "Things could be better with your friend over there."

Tommy looked over at Jason, who had begun working out again. "What's up with him?"

"I don't know. Something seems off about him today. Have you seen him since the monster attacks we had earlier?"

"No, I haven't actually. But you know most of us scattered when that stuff happened. When I woke up I couldn't remember anything from that day either. So I have no idea where he's been."

"You should ask him. I'm worried about him. Something's just not right." Ernie shook his head in frustration. "Well, I need to get back to work. Bulk and Skull haven't been in yet this weekend and the storage room needs to be organized..."

As Ernie grumbled off to the back hallway Tommy made his way over to Jason, who didn't notice the green adorned guy's approach until he heard the dropping of a bag.

* * *

"Hey Jase, what's going on man?" Tommy asked with genuine concern, "You didn't show up yesterday at all."

"Yeah, well you know, monsters attacking the city kind of screws up life." Jason tried to side-step the question.

"Speaking of the monster attack, what happened to me during that? I woke up in the hospital with a splitting headache and no memory. Nurses said they found me in here, alone."

Jason shallowed hard, his mind running overtime for a plausible lie, "Um...actually I don't know what you were doing that night. You and I had already done a workout so I was back in the room and you...you must have come here." Jason gestured his arm around the scope of the building. "They said those monsters came in here, right?"

"I guess." Tommy shrugged his shoulders, beginning to believe the fib.

"Well, knowing you. You probably tried to look tough in front of that girl you keep staring at. What's her name?" Jason raised his eyebrows in anticipation of Tommy's ultimate distraction.

"Kimberly." The pink ranger's name softly came from Tommy's lips.

The two teens stood silently for a moment. Both thinking of other people. One held the image of his distant affection. The other looked at the sight of four bruised and nearly-broken bodies lying motionlessly on medical cots.

"Umm..." Jason started, to bring Tommy out of his daydreams, "What are you doing here? I mean, you were just in the hospital. Shouldn't you be in bed or something?"

"What? Oh, no way!" Tommy's attention snapped back into reality. "I can't stand not doing something. Besides, other than my brain the docs said I'm just fine so I'm here to work out. What to spar in a bit?"

"Sure," Jason said distractedly, "You start warming up. I've got to take a piss."

Jason hurriedly moved to the men's room while Tommy began to stretch out his body in preparation for the workout. A smile crossed his face as his thoughts once again turned to the petite girl in pink he had met just a few nights ago in this very place. She twisted and flipped across his mind, making him forget the time and missing the fact that Jason had not returned from the bathroom.

* * *

Sitting in the back stall, Jason sat on the toilet. Tears openly flowed down his face, falling for the four comrades he had left in their comatose states.

* * *

The halls filled with fiendish laughter. Howls rose from the dungeons as Goldar drowned himself in an alien equivalent of alcohol. His shame at failing to kill the insignificant humans drove him into a severe depression. But after several tankards, the dog-man now laughed at himself for his disgrace. His verbal explosions had disturbed the nearby Finster, who did not take kindly to Goldar's warrior honor. The frail, gray dog-man slowly opened the heavy door that accessed Goldar's chamber.

"Just look at yourself!" Finster began, "Completely gone in the drink all because of one little slip up. You keep this up and even I will outlive you."

"I don't need to hear another one of your lectures, old one!" A belligerent Goldar spat, "I am a warrior and I have a warrior's honor. But now that has been stripped from me by the red ranger."

"So a warrior without honor becomes a drunkard without a cause?"

"This drink is all I have left!" The warrior lifted a half-filled flask, "To the honor I once held!" And with that, he finished off the glass.

"Well, how would you like to regain your honor?" Finster asked temptingly.

"And how would I do that?" Goldar sagged in his chair, his energies spent from his binging.

Finster leaned forward, his eyes gleaming behind his spectacles, "By capturing the red ranger and bringing him to me."

* * *

**So ends chapter 12. There's not much action, but Jason's predicament with having powers is a weighty issue and requires a lot of time for him to come to terms with. Like I said earlier, it's been awhile so feedback is extremely appreciated, especially on whether or not my style's changed too much or not...**


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